Since the major pioneering of joint replacement surgery more than fifty years ago, much research and progress has been made in the field of arthroplasty with new insights into better materials, types of cement and bone-cell compatible coatings, and a better understanding of the causes of implant failure. With an increasingly ageing population the requirement for arthroplastic surgery is manifest; over 800,000 hips worldwide are replaced each year, and replacement surgery is performed for almost...