We evaluated twenty-one patients, one to eight years after removal of
total hip-arthroplasty components because of infection. Sixteen of the
patients had moderate to severe pain with either weight-bearing or sitting,
and the other five had continuous moderate to severe pain. Twelve patients
had an Iowa hip rating of less than 50 points, and the mean for the entire
group was 49 points. All but three patients required a walker or crutches
for walking. Only three patients were satisfied with the result of the
resection arthroplasty. There was a suggestion that the patients with a
smooth intertrochanteric line of resection of the proximal end of the femur
had better results than those who did not. Patients whose wounds never
healed had worse results than those whose wounds healed, but neither the
initial treatment of the wound (open packing versus closed-tube irrigation)
nor retained cement determined whether healing would occur.