Long-term outcomes of a dual-mobility cup and cementless triple-taper femoral stem combination in total hip replacement: a multicenter retrospective analysis

Background: The separate design concepts of dual-mobility cups and triple-taper femoral stems were developed to improve survivorship following total hip replacement (THR) by reducing instability/dislocation and enabling enhanced fixation. Successful outcomes at over two decades have been reported with earlier-generation devices based on these concepts. The current study aimed to provide the first long-term results with a unique pairing of later-generation dual-mobility cup and triple-taper cementless femoral stem after a decade of use in patients undergoing THR.

Methods: In this retrospective analysis, records were reviewed for all subjects implanted with this dual-mobility cup/cementless femoral stem combination at three centers between 2002 and 2005. Any subject who had not already had follow-up visit beyond 10 years, was not previously revised, and still living were invited for a single follow-up visit consisting of Merle d'Aubgine Scores, the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis (WOMAC) index, and standard radiographs.

Results: There were 244 THRs available for analysis. At a mean follow-up of 11.9 years, the Kaplan-Meier survivorship (endpoint: revision for any reason) was 99.1% (95% CI, 97.6-99.7) for the stem and 95.9% (95% CI, 93.1-97.6) for the cup. Merle d'Aubigne Scores were significantly improved from baseline and WOMAC scores were in the satisfactory range at the final follow-up. Radiographic analysis revealed no cases of stem subsidence, no cases of bone hypertrophy, 1 (0.4%) case of bone atrophy, and 3 (1.2%) cases of osteolysis around the stem. No subjects had radiolucent lines greater than 1 mm in any femoral Gruen zone. Evidence of cup migration was seen in 1 (0.4%) subject and 1 (0.4%) subject had evidence of osteolysis that was seen in Gruen zones I, II, IV, and V.

Conclusions: This combination of a later-generation dual-mobility cup and cementless triple-taper stem was associated with excellent survivorship and satisfactory functional outcomes at over 10 years follow-up.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02648152. Date of registration: January 6, 2016. Retrospectively registered.