Purpose: To our knowledge, there are no 35 year follow-up studies of the Charnley total hip arthroplasty in the United States. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the results of a single surgeon series of primary Charnley total hip arthroplasties performed with cement at a minimum 35 year follow-up interval.

Method: Between July 1970 and April 1972, the senior author performed 330 Charnley total hip replacements with cement using a hand-packing cement technique. At minimum 35 years post-operatively, 13 patients (16 hips) were alive, with 1 patient (1 hip) lost to follow-up. Living patients were evaluated clinically with a standard terminology questionnaire, and WOMAC. Radiographic evaluation included loosening, lysis, and need for reoperation.

Results: After a minimum 35 year follow-up, only 25 (8%) acetabular components and 10 (3%) femoral components revised for aseptic loosening. For the 16 hips in living patients, 7 acetabular components (44%) and 2 femoral component (12%) were revised for aseptic loosening. Overall, 87% of the original prosthesis remains intact at the time of final follow-up, or at the time of the patient’s death. The average linear wear rate for all patients with minimum 10 year radiographic follow-up was 0.09 mm/year.

Conclusion: Our follow-up study at a minimum 35 years following Charnley total hip arthroplasty with cement demonstrates the remarkable durability of the procedure. As demonstrated in this study, the long term challenge has been revisions associated with bearing surface wear. This study should provide a benchmark for comparison to follow-up studies of other procedures and devices as they reach this interval of follow-up.