(vii) Fixation in femoral revision: the role of cement

Evidence drawn from national joint registries and research from multiple centres affirm that highly successful long-term results can be achieved after primary hip replacement using polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) cement fixation. Revision surgery provides a more diverse spectrum of surgical challenges, for which a number of different surgical techniques may be required.This paper reviews the femoral revision techniques that may be employed using PMMA fixation. It discusses the indications for and strengths of these techniques, as well as their limitations. It presents the results of the different techniques in standard situations as well as those for more demanding scenarios such as infection or femoral fracture.These results show that PMMA fixation of the femoral component at revision surgery is versatile and effective and brings with it several unique advantages over other methods of femoral revision.