Cementless femoral prostheses cost more to implant than cemented femoral prostheses

Prosthetic cost contributes greatly to the overall expense of THA. A key question, therefore, in the selection of implant technique is whether any price difference exists between a cementless and a cemented femoral prosthesis. We evaluated the price difference between the most commonly used cemented and cementless femoral stems at three high-volume academic medical centers. Each hospital's costs for prostheses from the manufacturers were recorded. The average cost of implanting a cementless femoral prosthesis was $296 more than the average cost of implanting a cemented femoral stem, even with the additional expense of two batches of bone cement and the accessories commonly used to achieve a third-generation cementing technique. The price difference was less variable if the cost of the prostheses from only the primary implant supplier for each institution was considered. As the number of THAs performed per year continues to escalate, implantation of a cemented femoral component remains an attractive method of fixation from an economic standpoint. Level of Evidence: Level III, economic and decision analysis. See the Guidelines for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.