Stability Differentials for Proximal vs Distal Fusion of Total Hip Arthroplasty Femoral Impaction Grafts

In impaction grafting for revision joint arthroplasty, the morselized cancellous bone ideally remodels into a new contiguous lattice. However, the use of biologically active factors may sometimes be indicated to enhance fusion. The purpose of this study was to determine the stability of femoral impaction-graft constructs for which either only the proximal or distal half of the morselized cancellous bone volume was modeled as fused. Fusing the proximal half of the impaction-graft volume resulted in a higher femoral stem stability than did fusing the distal half. This proximal graft fusion also resulted in a stem stability that was similar to that of fusing the entire graft. These results emphasize the importance of proximal fixation of an impaction-grafted femoral stem.