Clinical and radiographic results and wear performance in different generations of a cementless porous-coated acetabular cup.

We compared clinical results and wear performance in two different generations of a cementless porous-coated cup, analysing the long-term results of 83 uncemented Harris-Galante I cups (32-mm femoral head) and 93 uncemented Harris-Galante II cups (28-mm femoral head). All polyethylene liners were gamma irradiated in air. Polyethylene linear wear was estimated using a software package. The minimum follow-up was 10 years. Nine Harris-Galante I cups and two Harris-Galante II cups were revised due to aseptic loosening or polyethylene problems. The mean femoral head penetration at 6 weeks after surgery was 0.15 +/- 0.05 mm for the Harris-Galante I cups and 0.12 +/- 0.03 for the Harris-Galante II cups (p < 0.001);but mean wear was 0.13 +/- 0.23 mm per year for the Harris-Galante I cups and 0.11 +/- 0.10 for the Harris-Galante II cups (p = 0.740). Most of the metallic shells in both groups showed stable fixation. The so-called second-generation cups had lower initial polyethylene wear that resulted in less polyethylene wear at the latest the follow-up, but the overall wear rate was similar in both groups despite the different femoral head sizes and the improved locking mechanism.