Anterolateral Bone Window for Revision Broken Cemented Stem of Unipolar Hemiarthroplasty.

Background: Fractured stem of the hip prosthesis is well documented in the literature. Although it is rare, it is considered as a challenging problem. Many techniques have been described to solve this problem. . Evaluation of the effect of anterolateral bone window for extraction of the cemented femoral stem of hemiarthroplasty in revision total hip replacement.

Methods: The study included eight revision hip arthroplasties in eight patients, with a broken stem of cemented (Thompson) hemiarthroplasty, which has been revised by the anterolateral proximal femoral window. All cases received cemented cups and cement-in-cement stems, except one case who received cementless long stem. Clinical follow-up of cases by Harries hip score (HHS) and X-ray.

Results: Functional improvement of HHS of all cases, with no signs of loosening, after a mean follow-up period of 1.5 years.

Conclusion: Extraction of broken stem is a challenging procedure. Many techniques have been described for revision of cases with a fractured stem of hip prosthesis, but we think that the anterolateral femoral bone window is a reproducible technique due to the characteristics of simplicity, short-time procedure, less invasive, not requiring extra instruments, and can be successful for most patients.