Abstract
1. After almost seventeen years the three metal prostheses remain in approximately the original position in which they were inserted.
2. All three patients are ambulatory and two of them pleased with the result.
3. The youngest patient, now fifty-six, has a solid ankylosis of the hip and leads an active life free of pain.
4. In view of the attritional changes which have been seen to occur as a result of the reaction of bone to metal, it is suggested that resection replacement operations should be reserved for the primary treatment of certain fractures in the elderly and in those patients who are expected to be mostly inactive for the rest of their life. As a rough guide, it is considered that the operation should not be carried out under the age of seventy.
