Abstract
Since 1997, a patented rim flared cup has been used for both primary and revision total hip arthroplasty with great success. The concept was based on a “stretched” hemispherical geometry to improve initial contact between cup and bone. This improved geometry provided a 1 mm press fit predominantly at the perimeter of the acetabulum much like the footprint of the native anatomic acetabulum. Thousands of these were implanted. A second version of this concept was introduced in August 2011. This similarly “stretched” geometry provides 1.6 mm of press fit. Building on what was learned from the original design, this updated, stretched geometry was created with a single radius for a smooth transition from the apex to the peripheral press fit. Porous coating is the key to implant durability. With this aggressive “sticky” porous coating, only 0.6 mm of press fit is required. This porous coating has 60% porosity, and 150–400 mm pore size. It has a tensile strength of 5000 psi (The FDA requires a minimum of 2900 psi) and a mean thickness of 0.8 mm. Three thousand cups have been implanted with the author contributing 400. In our own primary subgroup done in 2014–15, 142 had 2–4 year follow up with zero loosening. There was one infection and 2 dislocations. One implant was revised on a patient with psoas tendonitis from an oversized cup. At retrieval it showed excellent ingrowth into the porous coating with 38% ingrowth. This graduated rim fit concept has a proven track record spanning 2 decades and provides a stable and reproducible acetabular construct.
