Risk factor analysis for early femoral failure in metal-on-metal hip resurfacing arthroplasty: the effect of bone density and body mass index

The importance of appropriately selecting patients based on factors such as bone mineral density, body mass index, age, gender, and femoral component size has been demonstrated in many studies as an aid in decreasing the rate of revisions and improving the outcomes for patients after hip resurfacing arthroplasty (HRA); however, there are few published studies quantitatively specifying the potential risk factors that affect early femoral component failures. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the specific causes of early femoral component failures in hip resurfacing separately and more carefully in order to develop strategies to prevent these failures, rather than excluding groups of patients from this surgical procedure.

This retrospective study included 373 metal-on-metal HRAs performed by a single surgeon using the vascular sparing posterior minimally invasive surgical approach. The average length of follow-up was 30 ± 6 months. In order to understand the causes of early femoral failure rate, a multivariable logistic regression model was generated in order to analyze the effects of bone mineral density (T-score), gender, diagnosis, body mass index, femoral implant fixation type, age, and femoral component size.

The average post-operative Harris hip score was 92 ± 11 points and the average post-operative UCLA score was 7 ± 2 points. There were three revisions due to femoral neck fracture and two for femoral component loosening. These occurred in two female and three male patients. In the multi-variable regression model, only T-score and body mass index showed significant effects on the failure rate of femoral components. Patients with a lower T-score and a higher body mass index had a significantly increased risk of early femoral component failure.

We recommend that dual energy x-ray absorptiometry scan T-score tests should be routinely performed on all hip resurfacing patients pre-operatively. If a patient has a low T-score (≤ -1.5), consideration should be given to additional precautions or treatments to alleviate his or her risk, especially when the patient has a higher body mass index (≥ 29 kg/m²).