The modern, hybrid total hip arthroplasty for primary osteoarthritis at the Hospital for Special Surgery.

We describe our technique and rationale using hybrid fixation for primary total hip arthroplasty (THA) at the Hospital for Special Surgery. Modern uncemented acetabular components have few screw holes, or no holes, polished inner surfaces, improved locking mechanisms, and maximised thickness and shell-liner conformity. Uncemented sockets can be combined with highly cross-linked polyethylene liners, which have demonstrated very low wear and osteolysis rates after ten to 15 years of implantation. The results of cement fixation with a smooth or polished surface finished stem have been excellent, virtually eliminating complications seen with cementless fixation like peri-operative femoral fractures and thigh pain. Although mid-term results of modern cementless stems are encouraging, the long-term data do not show reduced revision rates for cementless stems compared with cemented smooth stems. In this paper we review the conduct of a hybrid THA, with emphasis on pre-operative planning, surgical technique, hypotensive epidural anaesthesia, and intra-operative physiology.

Group B streptococcal arthritis in adults.

Group B streptococcal arthritis in adults is uncommon. This report describes seven cases seen at these institutions over the past five years and reviews the previous 17 documented cases. Of seven adults, three were diabetics, three had prosthetic hips, and one had undergone splenectomy. Six had undergone no prior dental, genitourinary, or gastrointestinal procedures. The most common clinical presentation was fever and acute joint pain. Five patients had monoarticular arthritis; two had multiple joint involvement. Underlying joint abnormalities included osteoarthritis (two), prosthetic hip (three), and neuropathic joint (one). Bacteremia was documented in three and suspected in the remaining four patients, often without a primary source. Therapy included parenteral antibiotics, usually penicillin G, and drainage of the involved joint. Two of three patients with prosthetic implants required Girdlestone procedures; the third was apparently cured. The three diabetic patients died, one with resolution of group B streptococcal arthritis. The seventh patient was cured. Group B streptococcal arthritis is a serious infection in adults with diabetes and late prosthetic hip infections.

The problem of infection in total prosthetic arthroplasty of the hip.

In summary, deep wound infection carries a special and disastrous significance for the patient with a total joint prosthesis. Such patients seem to be at greater than usual risk of infection, and special precautionary measures to prevent it are not only justified but imperative. These include careful preoperative preparation; special attention to rigid and exacting operative techniques for control of potential exogenous contaminants; sensible preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative antibiotic prophylaxis for control of potential endogenous cantaminants; and continued supervision of the patient throughout the postoperative years so as to prevent potential metastatic infection from other primary sources. Pre-existing and active infections of the hip constitute contraindications to total prosthetic arthroplasty, but these rules may be suspended in certain special situations provided that the patient is willing to cooperate with the arduous and prolonged program of treatment, and fully understands the special risks involved.

Thromboembolism following total hip-replacement arthroplasty. The efficicy of dextran-aspirin and dextran-warfarin in prophylaxis.

The efficacy of two antithrombotic regimens, combined dextran and aspirin and combined dextran and warfarin, was analyzed by comparing the incidence of thromboembolism following total hip replacement in two groups of similar patients. Of the 427 who received dextran and aspirin, 7 per cent had thromboembolic complications, including one case of fatal pulmonary embolus and one case of recurrent emboli that required vena caval ligation, and 15 per cent had wound-healing complications. Of the 197 patients who received dextran and warfarin, 5 per cent had thromboembolism and 24 per cent had wound healing complications. Although both prophylactic regimens seemed effective, dextran and aspirin appeared less effective in reducing thromboembolic complications than dextran and warfarin, but there were fewer wound complications in that group. One-fourth of the patients on dextran-warfarin were not adequately anticoagulated despite close supervision. In forty-five patients with a history of thromboembolism who were excluded from the study and analyzed separately, warfarin alone and the two described regimens were equally ineffective in preventing thromboembolism, and the incidence of thromboembolic complications was high. Dextran-aspirin and dextran-warfarin appear to be satisfactory and relatively simple methods of thromboembolic prophylaxis.

Bilateral total hip-replacement arthroplasty in one stage.

We reviewed 122 single-stage bilateral total hip replacements as compared with two other regimens: bilateral total hip replacement performed in stages during the same hospitalization and during separate hospitalizations. When compared with the single procedures, the duration of surgery in the one-stage procedure was not quite doubled while the blood loss was increased by about one-third and the length of stay by about one week. However, the total length of stay in the hospital was reduced by about one-half in comparison with single-admission two-stage replacements and the incidence of local and systemic complications was similar for all three groups, as were the clinical and roentgenographic results. There was one death in the single-stage group due to massive fat embolus.

Effect of aspirin on heterotopic ossification after total hip arthroplasty in men who have osteoarthrosis.

The severity of heterotopic ossification was determined from the radiographs of eighty-three men in whom osteoarthrosis had been treated with a primary total hip arthroplasty with cement. The medical records of these patients were then reviewed, with the reviewer having no knowledge of the radiographic findings. A similar operative approach and technique had been used in all patients. There was no association between the amount of intraoperative loss of blood or the duration of the operation and the severity of formation of heterotopic bone. The over-all rate of occurrence of heterotopic ossification was 72 per cent. Of the fifty-eight patients who had received aspirin throughout their course in the hospital, two (3 per cent) had severe ectopic ossification (grade III or IV8). In contrast, twelve (48 per cent) of the twenty-five patients who had received no aspirin or in whom aspirin had been discontinued so that anticoagulation could be begun had severe heterotopic ossification. The difference in the severity of the ossification between the two groups is significant (p less than 0.0001).

Early results and complications of surface replacement of the hip.

We analyzed the early results and complications of surface replacement arthroplasties of the hip performed at The Hospital for Special Surgery. Fifty-six hips in fifty-one patients were operated on from August 1977 through April 1979. Fifty-five of these hips in fifty patients were available for study after an average follow-up of thirty-six months. Thirty-five hips had an excellent result and thirteen, a good result. Seven arthroplasties were failures, an alarming number in view of the relatively short follow-up. Three of the seven failures were in hips with rheumatoid arthritis, even though only 21 per cent of the hips that had surface replacement were rheumatoid. As a result of this high failure rate, our present attitude toward surface replacement is one of caution, especially in patients with inflammatory arthritis.

Mechanical failures in total hip replacement requiring reoperation.

During the years 1971 through mid-1977, approximately 3,000 total hip replacements were performed at The Hospital for Special Surgery using metal-to-plastic prostheses. During that period of time, thirty-five operations were done for mechanical failure in the absence of infection. The mechanical failures were distributed as follows: Fourteen patients had dislocations of the prostheses and seven patients had loosening of the femoral component, mostly with varus positioning of the femoral stem. Six patients, most of them heavy, active men, had fractures of the femoral stem. Three patients had loosening of the acetabular component. (In two of three there was insufficient bone stock over the acetabulum.) Four patients had proximal migration of the greater trochanter and one had a fracture-dislocation of the acetabulum. In all cases a technical or anatomical problem could be identified as the reason for mechanical failure necessitating reoperation. By careful preoperative planning, proper selection of procedures and positioning of prostheses, bone-grafting when necessary, and stricter attention to the technique of using cement, we could conceivably have avoided two-thirds of these failures.

Perforation of the femoral shaft during total hip replacement.

Perforation of the femoral shaft by the prosthetic stem as a complication of total hip replacement is not well described in the literature. We studied twelve patients with this complication in order to define the predisposing factors, optimum management, and long-term outcome. Each patient was found to have one or more of the following factors: female sex, osteoporosis, previous fracture, or previous surgery. Once the complication was recognized, management consisted of protected weight-bearing for six weeks. All but two of the patients were asymptomatic after an average follow-up of five years. Judging from the long-term roetgenographic follow-up, penetration of the femoral shaft does not appear to seriously compromise the fixation of the femoral component.

Southwick osteotomy for severe chronic slipped capital femoral epiphysis: results and complications.

During an eight-year period, twenty-four Southwick osteotomies were performed in twenty-one patients with severe chronic slipped capital femoral epiphysis. After follow-ups ranging from two to ten years (average, four and one-half years), correction of the deformity had been maintained in all but one patient, who has loss of fixation of the osteotomy. One patient had joint-space narrowing, avascular necrosis of the femoral head, and significant restriction of motion which was still present three years after operation. We concluded that this osteotomy gives good correction of the deformity but is a major operative procedure that should be recommended only for severe, chronic slips. Preoperative loss of motion and joint-space narrowing are probably contraindications for the procedure, particularly in black patients.

The CAD hip arthroplasty. Five to ten-year follow-up.

One hundred and fourteen total hip arthroplasties in 100 patients were performed using the CAD (computer-assisted design) prosthesis at The Hospital for Special Surgery between 1975 and 1977. Sixty-one of these patients (seventy-four hips) have been followed both clinically and radiographically for a minimum of five years (average, 7.1 years). While no hip required revision before five years, seven hips were revised between six and ten years postoperatively. Ten hips had an excellent result; forty-eight, good; eight, fair; and one, poor. Radiographic analysis revealed narrowing of the cortex of the bone medially at the region of the proximal part of the stem in the hips that were operated on as compared with the contralateral side that was not operated on. Nine hips (12 per cent) had one to two-millimeter radiolucent lines at the femoral bone-cement interface, and in five the lines were progressive. Fourteen hips (19 per cent) had radiolucent lines at the femoral bone-cement interface with a maximum width of 0.5 millimeter. Thirty-four (42 per cent) had more than three millimeters of resorption of the calcar or superomedial cyst formation. Survivorship analysis of the prosthesis predicted a 77 per cent survival rate at nine years. None of the prosthetic stems fractured despite the fact that the population was young, active, heavy, and predominantly male. The incidence of calcar resorption, however, was higher than in other studies. Thus, while the revision rate compared favorably with that of similar studies using other stem designs, compromise of the bone stock of the proximal end of the femur may be a significant disadvantage of this type of prosthesis.

Custom-designed femoral prostheses in total hip arthroplasty done with cement for severe dysplasia of the hip.

A custom-designed femoral prosthesis was implanted with cement and a standard acetabular component was used to treat nineteen severely dysplastic hips in fourteen consecutively managed patients. Components that had been custom-designed with the use of plain radiography were used because the anatomical reconstructive goals could not be achieved with commercially available implants. These goals were to match the offset of the femoral head and the length of the lower limb with those on the normal side for patients who had unilateral involvement and to provide an average (thirty to forty-millimeter) offset with equal limb lengths for patients who had bilateral involvement. A retrospective clinical and radiographic analysis was performed. The diagnoses included coxa vara (one hip), congenital dislocation (twelve hips), achondroplasia (three hips), and spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia (three hips). The mean age at the time of the reconstruction was forty-nine years (range, twenty-two to seventy-three years), and the mean duration of follow-up was fifty-seven months (range, twenty-seven to 108 months). In five hips, bone-grafting of the acetabulum was needed to obtain superolateral coverage. The clinical result was excellent in eighteen hips and good in one. No revisions have been performed to date. Two femoral components were possibly loose radiographically. One was associated with a definite loosening of the acetabular cup. In addition, one other cup was possibly loose. There was a 100 per cent rate of survival if only a revision procedure was considered as a failure.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Long-term results of total hip arthroplasty in congenital dislocation and dysplasia of the hip. A follow-up note.

Twenty-three of twenty-nine hips that were previously reported on were studied at an average of fourteen years (range, eight to 16.5 years) after total hip arthroplasty with cement. The original arthroplasties had been performed between November 1971 and January 1976. In all hips, there was dislocation or severe dysplasia. In six hips, superolateral bone grafts were used to increase acetabular coverage. At the latest follow-up examination, seven hips were rated excellent; nine, good; and one, fair. There were six failures (26 per cent) that were revised: four hips (17 per cent) had a fractured Trapezoidal-28 stem, one had loose femoral and acetabular components, and one had loosening of only the acetabular component. Radiographic analysis of the remaining hips revealed that one had progressive acetabular radiolucencies. This patient had an excellent clinical result. Two-thirds of the failures were due to a fractured stem.

A ten-year follow-up study of our first one hundred consecutive Charnley total hip replacements.

This study concerns the fate of the first 100 Charnley total hip replacements done in ninety ninety patients at The Hospital for Special Surgery. At the time of this study, the follow-up of the surviving sixty-seven patients ranged from nine and one-half to eleven and one-half year (average, ten years). When studied at an average of ten years after the initial operation, twenty-six of the original 100 hips that had been operated on had been lost to follow-up due to death, and seven could not be traced. Of the remaining sixty-seven hips that were available for clinical evaluation, thirty-seven were rated as excellent; twenty-two, as good; four, as fair; and four, as poor, according to The Hospital for Special Surgery scoring system. The radiographs of fifty-four of the sixty-seven hips were available for this evaluation. Twenty-three of these hips showed radiographic signs of problems that appeared to have no significant bearing on the quality of their clinical results. There was loosening of the femoral component in five hips which occurred within the first three years after operation and then apparently stabilized. One required reoperation eight years after the original surgery. There was one fracture of the femoral stem eight years after the original operation, requiring reoperation. Six hips demonstrated so-called calcar resorption, the greatest measuring fourteen and thirty millimeters. Ten acetabular components showed wear of more than one millimeter, the maximum being five millimeters in both components of a patient with bilateral hip replacement. Two acetabular components migrated, one requiring reoperation due to progressive bone loss nine and one-half years after the original procedure. All three reoperations have been successful to date.

Results of revision for mechanical failure after cemented total hip replacement, 1979 to 1982. A two to five-year follow-up.

From January 1979 to February 1982, 143 patients (seventy-nine women and sixty-four men) with 146 uninfected cemented total hip arthroplasties had revision cemented hip arthroplasty at The Hospital for Special Surgery for what was considered to be mechanical failure. The average age of the patients at primary arthroplasty was 56.1 years and at revision, 62.1 years. Loosening of the femoral component before revision correlated with varus positioning in 50 per cent of the hips, inadequate cement in 34 per cent, and a relatively young age in 16 per cent. The average age of the patients (fifteen hips) with a loose femoral component that had been placed in a neutral or valgus position with good cementing technique was 48.2 years at the time of primary arthroplasty. Loosening of the acetabular component was attributed to high placement of the cup in 41 per cent, inadequate bone in 18 per cent, a vertical orientation of the opening of the cup in 7 per cent, and poor cementing technique in 3 per cent. Complications associated with revision included perforation of the femoral cortex in 13 per cent, postoperative deep infection in 3.4 per cent, postoperative dislocation in 8.2 per cent, trochanteric complications in 6.2 per cent, and sciatic palsy in 0.7 per cent. Of the 139 hips that were followed for an average of 3.6 years (range, two to five years) after revision, the results were excellent in 59 per cent, good in 7 per cent, fair in 16 per cent, and poor in 18 per cent. After revision of the 139 hips, 29 per cent showed progressive radiolucencies; 18 per cent, femoral subsidence; and 9 per cent, acetabular migration. Definite mechanical failure after revision was identified in 15.8 per cent of the hips. These failures were due to loosening in 12.2 per cent of the hips, femoral fracture in 2.2 per cent, and disabling dislocation in 1.4 per cent. At the time of follow-up, twelve hips (8.6 per cent) had been revised a second time: six (4.3 per cent) for loosening of one or both components, three (2.2 per cent) for femoral fracture, and three (2.2 per cent) for infection. Mechanical failure and progressive radiolucencies were associated with poor quality of bone (p less than 0.001) and inadequate anatomical reconstruction (p less than 0.03).

The effect of total hip replacement and general surgery on antithrombin III in relation to venous thrombosis.

This investigation was undertaken to identify and correlate one factor that makes patients undergoing total hip replacement more susceptible to venous thrombosis and pulmonary embolism than those who have almost any other elective orthopaedic procedure, and to determine why the operation of total hip replacement has proved to be relatively resistant to antithrombotic prophylaxis compared with general surgical procedures. Using the depletion of antithrombin III as a marker of activation of the coagulation system, two groups of patients were compared: twenty-one who were subjected to hip arthroplasty and fourteen who underwent general surgical procedures. Both during and after operation the decrease in the quantity of antithrombin III in hip-arthroplasty patients was significantly greater (p less than 0.05) than the decrease in general surgical patients. Seventy-three per cent of hip-replacement patients had venographic evidence of recent thrombosis, 60 per cent of which were discontinuous femoral-vein thrombi. Femoral-vein thrombosis occurs frequently in hip-arthroplasty patients and is relatively resistant to current antithrombotic prophylaxis. The data presented suggest that during hip surgery there is a strong systemic activation of the clotting cascade that is associated with local vessel injury and local stasis in the femoral vein, an association not found in most general surgical procedures.

Sensitivity to metal as a possible cause of sterile loosening after cobalt-chromium total hip-replacement arthroplasty.

We explored the possibility that wear products of cobalt-chromium alloy might lead to sensitivity to metal wear products and in turn to loosening of a component of the prosthesis after total joint replacement. Twenty patients with sterile, loose McKee-Farrar hip replacements had patch tests for sensitivity to cobalt, nickel, and chromium. All tests were negative in all patients. The histological findings from surrounding tissues in seventeen patients who had reoperation showed no signs of delayed hypersensitivity. In five patients, lymphokine assays for migration inhibition factor and blastogenic factor were done. Only one assay was positive. Our findings do not support the suggestion that hypersensitivity to metal is a cause of component loosening after McKee-Farrar total hip replacement.

Acetabular reconstruction with a bipolar prosthesis and morseled bone grafts.

The results of eighteen acetabular reconstructions in which a bipolar prosthesis and morseled bone grafts were used for a major acetabular defect were evaluated. Thirteen Type-II (cavitary) and five Type-III (combined) acetabular deficits were treated. All of the patients were followed for at least two years. The procedure failed in eleven patients: six had radiographic evidence of complete resorption of the bone grafts and migration of the acetabular component; three, deep infection; one, recurrent dislocation; and one, pain of undetermined cause despite a satisfactory radiographic appearance of the hip. The remaining seven patients had a satisfactory clinical outcome. However, an improved acetabular bone structure, as judged by radiographic evidence of incorporation of the bone grafts, was maintained in only four patients. In our experience, acetabular reconstruction with morseled bone grafts and a bipolar prosthesis was associated with a high rate of failure, and we do not recommend that it be performed routinely. It should be considered only as a salvage procedure in elderly or infirm patients, as a possible alternative to more extensive procedures.

The effect of intravenous fixed-dose heparin during total hip arthroplasty on the incidence of deep-vein thrombosis. A randomized, double-blind trial in patients operated on with epidural anesthesia and controlled hypotension.

Heparin was given in fixed doses intravenously during unilateral primary total hip-replacement operations in a prospective, double-blind trial to assess the effect on the incidence of deep-vein thrombosis. One hundred and fifty patients were randomly assigned to one of two groups before the operation. Twenty-four patients were excluded from the study, leaving 126 patients. Group I consisted of sixty-six patients who received saline solution intravenously, and Group II comprised sixty patients who received heparin. All patients had epidural anesthesia with controlled hypotension. Fixed doses of heparin were administered five minutes before the operative incision was made and every thirty minutes throughout the operation. Mean arterial pressures were maintained at between fifty and sixty millimeters of mercury in all patients. Ascending venography was done on the seventh day after the operation. The incidence of deep-vein thrombosis was 24 per cent (sixteen of sixty-six patients) in Group I and 8 per cent (five of sixty patients) in Group II; the difference is significant (p = 0.03). The intraoperative loss of blood averaged 220 +/- 79 milliliters in Group I compared with 269 +/- 109 milliliters in Group II. An average of less than one unit of blood was transfused for each patient in each group. Postoperatively, there was no difference between the groups with regard to the amount of drainage that was collected in a Hemovac device or the values for hematocrit.

Conventional total hip arthroplasty for degenerative joint disease in patients between the ages of forty and sixty years.

We analyzed the records of 103 conventional hip arthroplasties in seventy-five active patients who were between the ages of forty and sixty years. After five to ten years of follow-up, an excellent or good clinical result was evident in 90 per cent. The radiographic appearance of the cement-bone interface of the acetabular component was stable in those hips, and no progressive acetabular radiolucency was found in 80 per cent of the hips. Of twenty hips with a complete acetabular radiolucency (Grade III or IV), only three had a secondary revision operation, two in conjunction with a fracture of the stem of the prosthesis and one for migration (Grade IV). Eight additional hips showed migration. Seventy per cent of the femoral components were well fixed, without radiographic evidence of loosening. A fracture of the femoral stem occurred in eight hips, all of which had a revision operation. One revision operation was done for loosening of the femoral stem. Seven femoral stems showed either shift or subsidence. An isolated radiolucency in the superolateral zone was present in four hips and an isolated lucency in other zones, measuring one millimeter or less, was present in ten hips. Thus, radiographic evidence of loosening, including the hips with a fractured stem, was present in 29.9 per cent. One additional revision, making ten in all, was done for symptomatic acetabular loosening. Based on this study, we concluded that conventional hip arthroplasty is a highly successful treatment in active patients between forty and sixty years old who have osteoarthritis of the hip.