Background: Osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH) is a debilitating condition responsible for a significant portion of total hip arthroplasties and detrimental functional capacity of patients. Core decompression is the gold standard of treatment for ONFH, however, tantalum rod implantation can provide structural support in the “pre-collapse" stages of ONFH. This study compares the results of tantalum rod implantation to the current literature. Aim of the work: Review the early results of porous tantalum osteonecrosis implant in early stages of AVN of femoral heads in adults. Patients and Methods: A prospective study surveyed patient radiographs, clinical notes, and operating room reports from a level I trauma center with a minimum of 2 years of follow-up. Inclusion criteria were skeletally mature patients with a diagnosis of ONFH with MRI evaluation, and treatment with core decompression with tantalum rod implantation. Primary outcome measures were Harris Hip Score and conversion to total hip arthroplasty (THA). Secondary outcomes measures were operation time and surgical complications. Results: 40 patients presented with ONFH were treated with core decompression with tantalum rod implantation. Harris hip scores at 6 months of follow-up had a mean of 97.52, improved from 72.72 at time of presentation. One patient (4%) developed a surgical complication of superficial infection. No other patients had surgical complications. Eight patients underwent conversion to THA. Mean operation time was 38 minutes.
Conclusion: Core decompression with tantalum rod implantation can be effective in treating early stage ONFH. For more advanced cases of ONFH, other treatment options may be considered. Increasing length of follow-up time will improve validity of the results.