The effect of retention of the femoral neck and of cement upon the stability of a proximal femoral prosthesis.

Radiological measurements of downward femoral component migration are reported for 203 hips in the first 2 years following total hip arthroplasty. The femora differed with respect to the retention of the femoral neck--in 167 it was retained and in 36 it was damaged--and to the use of cement--142 hips were press-fits and 61 were cemented. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that both retention of the neck and the use of cement retarded migration (ie, increased stability) of the femoral component (P = .0003 and .0037, respectively).