A 15-year follow-up study of 512 consecutive Charnley-Muller total hip replacements.

This article presents a prospective study of 512 consecutive total hip replacements done with the Charnley-Muller prosthesis. The operations were performed between 1967 and 1972. The follow-up period ranges from 13 1/2 to 18 years (average, 15 years). From the initial 512 replaced hips, only 148 were available for study at the end of 1985. The failure rate due to loosening of the prosthetic components, after a mean follow-up period of 15 years, was approximately 40%. The rate of loosening of the femoral component increased during the first 10 years after surgery and then tended to decrease, whereas the incidence of loosening of the acetabular component increased with time. There was a positive correlation between the decrease of excellent results and the incidence of previous surgery.