Long term preservation of femoral bone following hemiresurfacing.

Long term femoral fixation, bone remodeling and neck preservation are demonstrated histologically in three hips treated with hemiresurfacing. They were performed in young patients for Ficat stage III or early IV osteonecrosis as a "time buying procedure". The cases were revised after 13, 16 and 22 years because of cartilage wear which was anticipated. One head was resurfaced using titanium and two with custom alumina ceramic components. Fixation was achieved using early bone cleansing and cementing techniques. Retrieval analysis found remarkable preservation of bone stock and viability without neck narrowing.