Current Concepts, Classification, and Results in Short Stem Hip Arthroplasty

Various short hip stems have been introduced with differing implant concepts of femoral fixation and implant length. There is a lack of proper classification for short hip stems, with a clear and accepted definition for implant length and extent of bone preservation in the metaphyseal and diaphyseal femur. This study analyzed the length of short hip stems. Stems were divided into collum, partial collum, and trochanter-sparing implants. An additional category was added, trochanter harming, which was defined as interruption of the circumferential integrity of the femoral neck. For all of the femoral components described, the designs were compared, excluding stems with insufficient clinical data. The 15 finally selected stems were classified as collum (1 stem), partial collum (7 stems), trochanter sparing (4 stems), and trochanter harming (3 stems). Mid-term results (>5 years of follow-up) were available for only 3 designs in the partial collum group. Taking into account the results of short-term studies (<5 years of follow-up), the femoral revision rate per 100 observed component years was <1 for most total hip arthroplasties. However, the studies varied greatly regarding level of significance, and short hip stems without published results are available commercially. Short hip stems cannot be circumscribed by a simple length limit. For some designs, clinical data collected from large patient cohorts showed a survivorship comparable to traditional stems. In cases that must be revised, this often can be performed with a conventional primary stem, fulfilling the promise to preserve bone for potential future revisions in younger patients.