Acetabular bone loss hampers implantation of a total hip arthroplasty in patients with developmental dysplasia of the hip. The bone impaction grafting technique in combination with a cemented total hip can restore the bone stock in these patients, but do these reconstructions yield satisfying long-term results? We used this technique in 28 hips (22 consecutive patients). The degree of dislocation was graded preoperatively as Crowe I in five hips, Crowe II in eight hips, Crowe III in nine hips, and Crowe IV in four hips. We present the long-term results of this bone impaction grafting technique a minimum of 10 years after surgery. Two patients died before the minimum followup of 10 years, leaving 20 patients (26 hips). Two cups were revised, one cup for a sciatic nerve palsy (at 2 years) and the other for aseptic loosening after 12 years. The cumulative survival of the cup with revision for any reason as the end point was 96% at 10 years and 84% at 15 years. There were no femoral revisions during followup. The bone impaction grafting technique in combination with a cemented cup is an effective technique for developmental dysplasia of the hip with favorable long-term results.
Level of evidence: Level IV, therapeutic study. See the Guidelines for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.