Combined Tantalum Implant with Bone Grafting for the Treatment of Osteonecrosis of the Femoral Head

Background: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the short-term clinical outcome of using a tantalum implant in combination with bone grafting for the treatment of osteonecrosis of the femoral head. Methods: Sixty-nine patients with 94 osteonecrotic hips were treated with this method from March 2006 to March 2011. All the patients were treated with tantalum rod implantation in combination with bone grafting, and were followed for an average 35.4 months. Harris hip score and the survival rate were analyzed according to stage, etiology, and osteonecrosis part. Results: Patients with stage I and stage II diseases had significant greater Harris hip score improvement than patients having stage III disease (p <.05). The survival rate was also significantly higher in patients with stage I and stage II diseases than in patients having stage III disease (p <.05). Patients with type A and type B necrotic lesions had better recovery than patients with type C1 and type C2 having lateral column lesions (p <.05). No significant differences were detected in the clinical outcome among patients with different etiologies. Conclusion: Combined tantalum implant with bone grafting provided good short-term clinical outcomes for early stage I and stage II patients with type A and type B necrotic lesions. However, this treatment modality was not so effective for patients with stage III or type C1 and type C2 necrotic lesions.