Total hip arthroplasty using a cylindrical cementless stem in patients with a small physique.

We performed total hip arthroplasty using an anatomic medullary locking cementless stem for small-physique patients from 1988 to 1995. We conducted a retrospective study of 50 joints in 44 cases, including 40 developmentally dysplastic hips followed for 12 to 20 years (average, 15.1 years). Average height and body weight were 152 cm and 56 kg (5.0 ft and 124 lb), respectively, with an average body mass index of 24.2. Twelve joints (24%) were revised for acetabular-sided failures. Forty-eight stems (96%) showed bone ingrowth fixation, and there were no unstable stems. The simple cylindrical shape of the distal portion of the AML stem was less affected by deformity of the proximal femur of developmental dysplasia of the hip in patients with a small physique, and both clinically and radiologically good results were confirmed at long-term follow-up.