Correlation Between Stress Shielding and Clinical Outcomes After Total Hip Arthroplasty with Extensively Porous Coated Stems

Relations between stress shielding and the clinical outcomes of total hip arthroplasty(THA) remain topics of debate. This study was performed on 51 patients that underwent unilateral primary THA with an extensively porous coated stem. Contralateral normal femurs were used as controls. Dual energy x-ray absorptiometry data was used to quantify bone mineral density(BMD) on proximal femurs. Clinical outcomes were estimated by using Harris hip scores (HHSs). BMD in operated sides were lower than in control sides. HHS and pain scores were not related to BMD changes. An extensively porous coated stem can be used for THA and that concerns regarding the effects of stress shielding of the proximal femur are unwarranted.