Introduction. Primary mechanical stability is important with uncemented THR because early migration is reduced, leading to more rapid osseointegration between the implant and bone. Such primary mechanical stability is provided by the design features of the device. The aim of this study was to compare the migration patterns of two uncemented hip stems, the Furlong Active and the Furlong HAC stem; the study was designed as a randomised control trial. The implants were the Furlong HAC, which is an established implant with good long term results, and the Furlong Active, which is a modified version of the Furlong HAC designed to minimise stress concentrations between the implant and bone, and thus to improve fixation. Materials and methods. The migration of 43 uncemented femoral components for total hip replacement was measured in a randomised control trial using Roentgen Stereophotogrammetric Analysis (RSA) over two years. Twenty-three Furlong HAC and twenty Furlong Active stems were implanted into 43 patients. RSA examinations were carried out post-operatively, and at six months, 12 months and 24 months post-operatively. The patients stood in-front of a purpose made calibration frame which contained accurately positioned radio-opaque markers. From the obtained images, the 3-D positions of the prosthesis and the host bone were reconstructed. Geometrical algorithms were used to identify the components of the implant. These algorithms allowed the femoral component to be studied without the need to attach markers to the prosthesis. The migration was calculated relative to the femoral coordinate system representing the anterior-posterior (A-P), medial-lateral (M-L) and proximal-distal (P-D) directions respectively. Distal migration was termed subsidence. Results. Both stems subsided significantly during the first six months following surgery but almost all stems did not progressively subside thereafter. The Furlong Active stem experienced approximately three times the amount of subsidence of the Furlong HAC stem; this difference was significant (p = 0.02). There was one subsidence outlier (four standard deviations from the mean) for the Furlong Active stem between one and two years post-operatively. Both the stems migrated laterally and rotated into valgus. Lateral migration was greater for the Furlong Active stem; at 12 and 24 months there was a significant migration of the Furlong Active head laterally of 0.51 mm (p = 0.012) and 0.58 mm (p = 0.013) respectively. There was no significant difference in clinical scores between the implants at any RSA examination post-operatively. Discussion. The initial fixation of the Furlong Active stem was not as good as the established stem making it less likely to integrate effectively with the bone. In this study, the theoretical design of a hip replacement to minimise the stress concentration between the implant and bone and thus improve fixation actually resulted in worse implant fixation. Stems designed theoretically to improve fixation may not achieve this. Therefore we recommend that new devices should be tested using Roentgen Stereophotogrammetric Analysis. Acknowledgments This work was funded by the Furlong Charitable Research Foundation

Trauma and orthopaedics is the largest of the surgical specialties and yet attracts a disproportionately small fraction of available national and international funding for health research. With the burden of musculoskeletal disease increasing, high-quality research is required to improve the evidence base for orthopaedic practice. Using the current research landscape in the United Kingdom as an example, but also addressing the international perspective, we highlight the issues surrounding poor levels of research funding in trauma and orthopaedics and indicate avenues for improving the impact and success of surgical musculoskeletal research.

Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2014; 96-B:1578–85.