The results of total hip arthroplasty with the use of medial and
superior bone-graft augmentation in thirty-nine hips (thirty-two patients)
that had protrusio acetabuli were previously reported after two to eight
years (mean, 4.7 years) of follow-up. We followed the surviving patients
for 10.9 to 17.4 years (mean, 12.8 years). The average Harris hip-rating
was 72 points--an average drop of 17 points since the previous report. The
average was 64 points for patients who had rheumatoid arthritis and 83
points for those who had another diagnosis. Radiographic evaluation
demonstrated definite, probable, and possible loosening in about 20, 10,
and 60 per cent of the hips, respectively. Of the six hips that had
definite loosening, four (10 per cent of the total series) had progression
of the protrusion (acetabular migration); operative revision was performed
on two of those four hips and on two other hips, in which progression had
ceased. Hips that had progressive protrusion demonstrated superior
migration more often than medial migration. The rates of loosening and
revision were similar to those in hips that did not have protrusio
acetabuli. We concluded that augmentation of total hip arthroplasty with
bone-grafting is effective in arresting the progression of protrusio
acetabuli in most hips (90 per cent in our series).