Subsidence of titanium straight stems in combination with highly viscous bone cement.

Varying results and a high rate of subsidence have been reported for the straight femoral stem (M.E. Muller) made of titanium alloy. We examined subsidence in 135 titanium-alloy straight stems implanted with high viscosity cement after 68.8+/-11.5 months using a digital high-precision method (EBRA-FCA). One revised implant showed a subsidence of 14.6 mm and another 2.5 mm over 5 years. A third implant without migration was found to be loose. The 122 implants without loosening showed a mean subsidence of 0.1+/-0.1 mm, and focal osteolysis was seen in two. Altogether, we found subsidence of the titanium stems very small. The small subsidence may be related to the use of high viscosity bone cement.