Orthopaedic crossfire--Larger femoral heads: a triumph of hope over reason! In opposition.

For the past decade, large femoral heads have for the most part been avoided in total hip arthroplasty, especially in younger active patients, because of their association with increased polyethylene wear. However, it has become equally clear that large femoral heads offer a benefit in terms of hip stability and reducing postoperative dislocation. With increasing head size, there is less chance of component-on-component impingement and increased displacement for dislocation. Highly cross-linked polyethylene appears to be relatively insensitive to head size and may offer the surgeon the opportunity to use large femoral heads, especially in patients who are at high risk for dislocation. Copyright 2003 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.