In this review, 110 hips in 107 patients underwent revision total hip arthroplasty at The Hospital for Special Surgery and the Robert B. Brigham Hospital. The minimum follow-up period was two years (average, 3.4 years). Failures of the original total hip arthroplasties were due to loosening of the femoral component (44 hips), loosening of both components (23 hips), loosening of the acetabular component (17 hips), fracture of the femoral component (14 hips), recurrent dislocation due to prosthetic malposition (7 hips), acetabular protrusion (3 hips), and fracture of the femoral shaft (2 hips). Sixty-six hips were categorized as good or excellent, and 25 hips were rated as fair. Nineteen poor results were due to: (a) deep infection (2 hips); (b) mechanical failure (15 hips); and (c) recurrent dislocation (2 hips). Complications included infection (3.6%), trochanteric problems (13%), mechanical failure (14%), and progressive radiolucent zones (26%). The quality of the result of a revision total hip arthroplasty is potentially as good as that of the original arthroplasty. However, the higher incidence of infection and mechanical failure reduces the frequency of such good results in the long-term. The extremely high incidence of progressive radiolucent zones at the bone-cement interface makes predictions for even longer term results guarded.
