Massive allografting for severe failed total hip replacement.

We are presenting the cases of five patients that illustrate the uses of large, frozen bone and osteoarticular allografts in dealing with severe structural deficiency about the hip joint associated with prior failed total hip replacement. The status of the grafts was assessed at a minimum follow-up of twenty-four months (average, thirty months). In four patients extensive grafts in the proximal part of the femur in conjunction with total hip-replacement components were used, and in the fifth patient a matched whole-joint transplant of the proximal part of the femur and the acetabulum was employed. The short-term clinical advantage of these massive grafts is clear, but the long-term results are uncertain.