The use of allograft bone in revision of total hip arthroplasty.

Fifty-two frozen bone allografts have been used on 44 patients undergoing revision hip arthroplasties. The average follow-up time on these patients has been 17 months, with a range of six to 72 months. Both proximal femoral allografts and the allografts for the reconstruction of acetabular deficiencies have been used. To date, most patients experience marked pain relief and improvement in function. Though the results attained to date are short-term, the use of allografts in the revision hip arthroplasties represents a natural progression of the tumor work. However, while the early results are encouraging, it remains to be seen how the proximal femur allografts and the large acetabular allografts will behave over a long period of time.