A radiological assessment of interprosthetic movement in the Charnley-Hastings hemiarthroplasty

Forty-six patients with acute displaced subcapital fractures of the femur were treated between December 1982 and December 1984 with Charnley-Hastings bipolar prostheses. The interprosthetic movement in 23 patients was assessed radiologically at least 1 year after surgery. Four patients (17.4 per cent) had no interprosthetic movement in abduction but the remainder (82.6 per cent) had some movement, although only 3 patients (13 per cent) had more than 5 ° of abduction within the prosthesis.