The literature was reviewed to establish the levels of stem subsidence for both double and triple-tapered implants in order to determine whether there were any differences in subsidence levels with regard to the methods of measurement, the magnitude and rate of subsidence and clinical outcomes.All studies reporting subsidence of polished taper-slip stems were identified. Patient demographics, implant design, radiological findings, details of surgical technique, methods of measurement and levels of subsidence were collected to investigate which factors were related to increased subsidence.Following application of inclusion and exclusion criteria, 28 papers of relevance were identified. The studies initially recruited 3090 hips with 2099 being available for radiological analysis at final follow-up. Patient age averaged 68 years (42-70), 60.4% were female and the average body mass index (BMI) was 27.4 kg/m2 (24.1-29.2).Mean subsidence at one, two, five and 10 years was 0.97 mm, 1.07 mm, 1.47 mm and 1.61 mm respectively. Although double-tapered stems subsided more than triple-tapered stems at all time points this was not statistically significant (p > 0.05), nor was the method of measurement used (p > 0.05).We report the levels of subsidence at which clinical outcomes and survivorship remain excellent, but based on the literature it was not possible to determine a threshold of subsidence beyond which failure was more likely.There were relatively few studies of triple-tapered stems, but given that there were no statistically significant differences, the levels presented in this review can be applied to both double and triple-tapered designs. Cite this article: EFORT Open Rev 2021;6:331-342. DOI: 10.1302/2058-5241.6.200086.
Keywords: cemented femur; subsidence; taper-slip stems.
© 2021 The author(s).