Preliminary report with the Regenerex™ revision shell: clinical, functional and radiologic evaluations with a mean follow up of 25 months.

Objective: Acetabular cup loosening is the primary reason of revision in total hip arthroplasty. There are a variety of surgical hardware and strategies available to address this problem, one of the most challenging circumstances in hip surgery, but there is a paucity of data on the results of each single technique anhardware available. Here we purpose our preliminary results about the use of Regenerex™ revision shell. Methods: This is a porous titanium construct optimized for vascularized osteogenesis and designed to accept a cemented all-poly cup. 28 cases were identified, the mean interval from surgery to evaluation was 25 months; we performed clinical, functional and radiologic evaluations. Results: After a mean follow-up of 25 months the mean HHS was >83 while the mean WOMAC score was >75; we do not show early implant mobilizations and the clinical outcome is satisfactory. In 5 cases postoperative radiolucent lines were present. No signs of osteolysis have been noted around the screws and none of the 28 cups was thought to be loose. Conclusions: The introduction of relatively new implants for hip revisions, made of a high porous ingrowth surface, are an attractive option to achieve favorable results also in major bone defects. Basing on our preliminary data, to our knowledge the first to be published, Regenerex™ revision shell seems to be a reliable and safe revision system for acetabular cup revision. Our results so far are promising, however further data are necessary to increase the clinical importance of our study.