The Cemented Hip Cup: The Weber Polyethylene-Ceramic and Metasul Cups and the High-Pressure Cementing Technique

Abstract

The total hip prosthesis (THP) can be said to fail as soon as it comes loose. With cemented anchorage [1, 2] there are two possible results: either immediate loosening, occurring as a consequence of faulty cementing technique, or immediate stability, as a result of good cementing technique. The subsequent fate of the prosthesis after immediate stability depends on possible factors of interference: (a) premature loosening resulting from infection, (b) late loosening following reaction of the tissues to polyethylene debris on the implant-bone interface as described by Willert [5], and (c) long-term stability lasting 30 years or more in the event of the absence of any significant wear, i. e., when the metal-metal pairing funcitons ideally [4].