Life expectancy after hip arthroplasty. Case-control study of 1018 cases of primary arthrosis.

The long-term survival of 1018 total hip arthroplasty (THA) patients (237 McKee-Farrar, 449 Brunswik and 332 Lubinus patients) operated on for primary arthrosis was compared with pair-matched controls (i.e., patients operated on for other orthopedic indications) and with a normal population. The 10-year survival after surgery for the McKee-Farrar patients was 85 percent, for the Brunswik patients 82 percent, for the Lubinus patients 82 percent and for the orthopedic control patients 84 percent, respectively. The 10-year survival after 65 years of age for the THA patients was 78 percent and for the normal population 73 percent. The long-term life expectancy of our patients with a cemented THA was equal to that of our orthopedic control group and better than the life expectancy of the Finnish population.