A comparison of the stability of proplast-coated and cemented Thompson prostheses in the treatment of subcapital femoral fractures

Abstract

Twenty randomly selected patients with displaced subcapital fractures of the femur, were treated with prosthetic replacement of the femoral head using a Thompson prosthesis of which the intramedullary portion was coated with Proplast. The results were compared with a control group of 20 similar patients in whom the standard Thompson prosthesis was used with acrylic cement. At follow-up, which ranged from 3 to 17 months, there was substantial X-ray evidence of prosthetic loosening in the Proplast series.