Application and evaluation of artificial intelligence 3D preoperative planning software in developmental dysplasia of the hip.

BACKGROUND: Accurate preoperative planning is crucial for successful total hip arthroplasty (THA) for developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH). The aim of this study was to compare the accuracy of an artificial intelligence-assisted three-dimensional (3D) planning system (AIHIP) with two-dimensional templates in predicting acetabular cup size in THA for DDH. METHOD: This study retrospectively analyzed image data from 103 DDH patients who had THA between May 2019 and August 2023. AIHIP was used for 3D planning, and two-dimensional (2D) templates were used by two experienced surgeons. Accuracy was assessed by comparing predicted and actual cup sizes, and potential factors affecting accuracy were analyzed, including gender, side, BMI, and dysplasia classification. RESULTS: AIHIP had higher accuracy in predicting the acetabular cup size compared to the 2D template. Within ± 0 size, AIHIP's accuracy was 84.1%, while the 2D template's was 64.0% (p < 0.05). Within ± 1 size, AIHIP's accuracy was 95.1%, while the 2D template's was 81.1% (p < 0.05). Accuracy was unaffected by gender, side, or BMI but was by DDH classification. In subgroup analysis, AIHIP's mean absolute error (0.21 ± 0.54) was significantly lower than the 2D template's (0.62 ± 0.95) for Crowe II and Crowe III (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: AIHIP is superior to 2D templates in predicting the acetabular cup size accurately for THA in DDH patients. AIHIP may be especially beneficial for Crowe II and III DDH patients, as 2D templates may not accurately predict cup size in these cases.

Fixation by Autogenous Cortical Plate Technique on Sites of Subtrochanteric Shortening Osteotomy Contributes to Early Bone Union in Total Hip Arthroplasty for Crowe Type IV Developmental Dysplasia of the Hip.

Aim: Subtrochanteric shortening osteotomy (SSO) is often applied during total hip arthroplasty (THA) in high hip dislocations. The aim of the present paper was to evaluate the results of fixation by autogenous cortical plate technique on sites of SSO in THA for patients with Crowe type IV developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH). Methods: We conducted a historical prospective cohort study and reviewed 67 patients (82 THAs) with SSO performed between March 2016 and May 2020. Thirty-nine patients (48 hips) obtained stability by intramedullary pressure provided by the S-ROM modular prostheses and with or without prophylactic binding by stainless-steel wire after osteotomy and before stem implantation (group A). Twenty-eight patients (34 hips) were fixed with autogenous cortical plate technique and stainless-steel wire or cables (group B). Time of operations, complications, radiographic results and clinical scores were compared. Results: One intraoperative fracture and a dislocation occurred, while component loosening, ectopic ossification and osteolysis were not observed. Group B had a higher union rate at the 4th month than group A (P = 0.015) while there were no significant differences of union rates at the 8th (P = 0.811) and the 12th month (P = 0.722) and of the average healing time (P = 0.181). No significant differences were found in hip function scores (HHS and WOMAC Osteoarthritis Index) between two groups. Conclusion: Fixation with autogenous cortical plate from the cylinder of femoral bone contributes to early bone union of osteotomy ends in Crowe type IV DDH patients compared to those who do not apply the technique. Besides of application of autogenous cortical strut grafts, relevant measures are as well recommended to prevent nonunion after SSO.

Does robotic-assisted computer navigation improve acetabular cup positioning in total hip arthroplasty for Crowe III/IV hip dysplasia? A propensity score case-match analysis.

AIMS: Total hip arthroplasty (THA) in patients with hip-dislocation dysplasia remains challenging. This study aims to evaluate whether these patients may benefit from robotic-assisted techniques. METHODS: We reviewed 135 THAs (108 conventional THAs and 27 robotic-assisted THAs) for Crowe type III or IV from January 2017 to August 2019 in our institution. Robotic-assisted THAs were matched with conventional THAs at a 1:1 ratio (27 hips each group) using propensity score matching. The accuracy of cup positioning and clinical outcomes were compared between groups. RESULTS: The inclination of the cup for conventional THAs and robotic THAs was 42.1 ± 5.7 and 41.3 ± 4.6 (p = 0.574), respectively. The anteversion of the cup for conventional THAs was significantly greater than that of robotic THAs (29.5 ± 8.1 and 18.0 ± 4.6; p < 0.001), respectively. The ratio of the acetabular cup in the Lewinnek safe zone was 37% (10/27) in conventional THAs and 96.3% (26/27) in robotic THAs (p < 0.001). Robotic THAs did not achieve better leg length discrepancy than that of conventional THAs (- 0.4 ± 10.9 mm vs. 0.4 ± 8.8 mm, p = 0.774). There was no difference in Harris Hip Score and WOMAC Osteoarthritis index between groups at the 2-year follow-up. No dislocation occurred in all cases at the final follow-up. CONCLUSION: Robotic-assisted THA for patients with high dislocation improves the accuracy of the implantation of the acetabular component with respect to safe zone.

[A comparative study of three different fixation methods after subtrochanteric shortening osteotomy in total hip arthroplasty for Crowe type â £ developmental dysplasia of the hip].

OBJECTIVE: To compare the effectiveness of three different fixation methods after subtrochanteric shortening osteotomy (SSO) in total hip arthroplasty (THA) for Crowe type Ⅳ developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH). METHODS: A clinical data of 63 patients (78 hips) with Crowe type Ⅳ DDH, who underwent THA with SSO between November 2014 and May 2019, was retrospectively analyzed. Among them, 18 patients (20 hips) obtained stability by intramedullary pressure provided by the S-ROM modular prostheses (group A); 22 patients (30 hips) underwent prophylactic binding by stainless steel wire after osteotomy and before stem implantation (group B); 23 patients (28 hips) were fixed with autogenous cortical strut grafts and stainless steel wire or cables (group C). There was no significant difference in gender, age, body mass index, affected limb side, and preoperative Harris score between groups ( P>0.05). The operation time, complications, imaging results, hip functional score of the three groups were recorded and compared. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in the operation time between groups ( P>0.05). All incisions healed by first intention. All patients were followed up, and the follow-up time was 2.5-4.0 years (mean, 3.1 years) in group A, 1.5-5.5 years (mean, 3.2 years) in group B, and 1.0-5.0 years (mean, 1.6 years) in group C. There was no significant difference in Harris score or Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) score between groups at 4 and 12 months after operation ( P>0.05). X-ray films showed that there was no significant difference in osteotomy healing rate at 4, 8, and 12 months after operation and the osteotomy healing time between groups ( P>0.05). There was no complications such as joint dislocation, prosthesis loosening, prosthetic joint infection, or heterotopic ossification during follow-up, except for the distal femoral fracture of 1 hip during operation in group B. CONCLUSION: In THA for patients with Crowe type Ⅳ DDH, the stainless steel wire binding alone and autogenous cortical strut grafts combined with stainless steel wire or cable binding can not significantly promote the osteotomy healing compared with femoral prosthesis intramedullary compression fixation. For patients with nonmatched medullary cavity after SSO, it is recommended to apply autogenous cortical strut grafts with wire or cables for additional fixation.

[Measurement and analysis of leg length in adults with unilateral developmental dysplasia of the hip].

OBJECTIVE: To measure and analyze the radiographic characteristics of the leg length discrepancy in adult patients with unilateral developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH). METHODS: The clinical data of 112 patients with unilateral DDH who met the selection criteria between January 2016 and June 2018 were retrospectively analyzed. There were 16 males and 96 females with an age of 20-76 years (mean, 42.9 years). According to the Crowe classification, there were 25 hips of type Ⅰ, 26 hips of type Ⅱ, 15 hips of type Ⅲ, and 46 hips of type Ⅳ (26 hips of type ⅣA without secondary acetabular formation, and 20 hips of type ⅣB with secondary acetabular formation). Full-length X-ray films of the lower limbs in the standing position were used to measure the following parameters: greater trochanter leg length (GTLL), greater trochanter femoral length (GTFL), lesser trochanter leg length (LTLL), lesser trochanter femoral length (LTFL), tibial length (TL), and intertrochanteric distance (ITD). The above parameters on the healthy and affected sides were compared and the difference of each parameter between the healthy and affected sides was calculated. Taking the difference of 5 mm between the healthy side and the affected side as the threshold value, the number of cases with the healthy side was greater than 5 mm and the affected side was greater than 5 mm were counted respectively. The difference of the imaging parameters between the healthy side and the affected side were compared between different Crowe types and between type ⅣA and type ⅣB. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in GTLL and LTFL between healthy and affected sides ( P>0.05); LTLL and TL of affected side were longer than healthy side, GTFL and ITD were shorter than healthy side, and the differences were significant ( P<0.05). The constituent ratio of long cases on the affected side of TL and LTLL was greater than the constituent ratio of long cases on the healthy side, while the constituent ratio of long cases on the healthy side of GTFL and ITD was greater than the constituent ratio of long cases on the affected side; there was no obvious difference in the constituent ratio of long cases on the healthy side or the affected side of GTLL and LTFL. The comparison between different Crowe types showed that only the difference in TL between type Ⅰ and type Ⅳ was significant ( P<0.05), the difference of each imaging parameter among the other types showing no significant difference ( P>0.05). Compared with type ⅣB, the differences of GTLL, TL, and ITD of type ⅣA were bigger, and the differences were significant ( P<0.05); the differences of other parameters between type ⅣA and type ⅣB were not significant ( P>0.05). CONCLUSION: In adult unilateral DDH patients, the leg length on the healthy side and the affected side is different, and the difference mainly comes from the TL and ITD, which should be paid attention to in preoperative planning.

Correcting severe flexion contracture with fusiform capsulectomy of posterior capsule during total knee arthroplasty.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of fusiform capsulectomy of posterior capsule in correcting severe flexion contracture during total knee arthroplasty (TKA). METHODS: A retrospective analysis was performed in the patients who had preoperative severe flexion contracture (> 30 degrees) prior to TKA and received fusiform capsulectomy of posterior capsule during TKA between December 2013 and November 2018. Range of motion (ROM), knee functional score, forgotten joint score (FJS), post-operative complications, and radiographic results were collected and evaluated. RESULT: Twenty patients (32 knees) were enrolled in this study. The mean duration of follow-up was 27.19 ± 15.92 months. The flexion contracture improved from pre-operative 37.69 ± 11.79° to post-operative 5.78 ± 4.44° (p < 0.001), and ROM increased from pre-operative 63.50 ± 21.74° to post-operative 97.88 ± 13.20° (p < 0.001). KSS clinical score increased from pre-operative 32.94 ± 11.03 to post-operative 82.34 ± 10.73 (p < 0.001), and KSS function score increased from pre-operative 28.97 ± 18.43 to post-operative 68.75 ± 15.96 (p < 0.001). The post-operative FJS was 76.08 ± 2.14. There was no implant loosening, infection, obvious haematoma formation, resultant instability, neurovascular complications, or revision for any reasons in the cohort until the last follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: The technique of fusiform capsulectomy of posterior capsule to correct the severe flexion contracture during primary TKA is safe and effective and could provide good short-term results.

A Prospective, Randomized and Controlled Study on Tissue Adhesive for Skin Incision in Total Knee Arthroplasty.

BACKGROUND: The study focusing on the tissue adhesive in total knee arthroplasty (TKA) was rare. This study aimed to evaluate the clinical outcomes and economic costs of tissue adhesive when acting as the adjunct to standard incision closure in TKA. PATIENTS AND METHODS: From September 2019 to November 2019, we prospectively enrolled the consecutive patients who underwent simultaneous bilateral TKA in our institute. The allocation using the tissue adhesive was done after the subcuticular suture in right knee first and another method was applied in the left knee automatically. The patients' demographics, length of stay (LOS), times of dressing changes and incision-related cost, range of motion (ROM), incision-related complications and incision evaluation scores were recorded. RESULTS: Thirty-two patients were enrolled in this study and followed at two months after surgery. In the knees of tissue adhesive, the times of dressing change and patient scar assessment scores (PSAS) were significantly less than those standard skin closure (p=0.000; p=0.003). Although there were no significant differences of the delayed discharge, incision-related cost, ROM, incision-related complications and Vancouver scar score (VSS) between two groups, 65.6% (21/32) patients preferred the tissue adhesive and only 15.6% (5/32) patients preferred the standard incision closure. CONCLUSION: Tissue adhesive could effectively reduce postoperative wound drainage and improve patients' satisfaction rate with no difference in medical costs and ROM in TKA. The application of tissue adhesive and subcuticular sutures might be one safe and convenient method of skin closure in TKA. CHINESE CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRY: ChiCTR1900025730; Registered 6 September 2019.

A Surgeon's handedness in direct anterior approach-hip replacement.

BACKGROUND: The impact of handedness on clinical outcomes was easily overlooked in hip replacement. This study aimed to find whether the component positioning and hip function were affected by the handedness in total hip arthroplasty (THA) through direct anterior approach (DAA). METHODS: Total 102 patients who underwent bilateral DAA-THAs simultaneously between May 2016 and November 2018 in our institute were reviewed. All surgeries were operated by one right-handed surgeon. Their demographic, cup positioning, stem alignment, femoral stem fit, Harris hip score (HHS), intraoperative and postoperative complications were used to evaluate the role of handedness in DAA. RESULTS: The inclination of left cups was significantly larger than that of right cups (42.61 ± 7.32 vs 39.42 ± 7.19, p = 0.000). The stem fit of left femur was significantly larger than that of right femur (84.34 ± 4.83 vs 82.81 ± 6.07, p = 0.043). No significant differences in safe zone ratio, HHS and complications between bilateral hips were found. CONCLUSIONS: A surgeon's handedness had significant impact on cup's inclination and femoral stem fit in DAA-THA. However, there were no significant differences of cup malpositioning, stem alignment, hip function scores and complications between bilateral DAA-THAs.

Use of Robotic-Arm Assisted Technique in Complex Primary Total Hip Arthroplasty.

BACKGROUND: There is a lack of data concerning the use of robotic devices in more complex total hip arthroplasty (THA) cases, such as hip dysplasia, ankylosing spondylolysis, and post-traumatic arthritis. CASE PRESENTATION: This case study presented three cases in which the Mako robotic device was used to help accurately implement the surgical plan. The operations went smoothly. The position and angle of the acetabular shells were placed as planned without any complications related to the operation. Postoperative Harris Hip Scores were good in two patients and poor in the patient with ankylosing spondylitis. Robotic-arm assisted surgery may be considered for complex THA cases in order to optimize the accuracy of the reconstruction, especially in the absence of conventional boney landmarks.

[Research progress in unicompartmental knee arthroplasty].

OBJECTIVE: To summarize the clinical application and research progress in unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA). METHODS: The literature related to UKA in recent years was reviewed and the emerging indications, implant options, comparisons between other surgical techniques, and recent advances were summarized. RESULTS: Clinical studies show that UKA has many advantages, such as less trauma, faster recovery, and fewer postoperative complications. At present, the operative indication has been expanded. The body mass index more than 25 kg/m 2, less than 60 years old, patellofemoral arthritis, and anterior cruciate ligament dysfunction are no longer considered as contraindications. The prosthesis type in UKA should be selected according to the patient's condition. In recent years, the robot-assisted UKA can effectively improve the effectiveness, improve patient satisfaction, and reduce postoperative complications. CONCLUSION: With the development of surgical techniques, designs of prosthesis, and the robotic technology, UKA would be further applicated. As more long-term data on UKA become available, it will further guide clinicians in counseling patients on whether UKA should be performed.

An Automatic Classification of the Early Osteonecrosis of Femoral Head with Deep Learning.

BACKGROUND: Osteonecrosis of Femoral Head (ONFH) is a common complication in orthopaedics, wherein femoral structures are usually damaged due to the impairment or interruption of femoral head blood supply. AIM: In this study, an automatic approach for the classification of the early ONFH with deep learning has been proposed. METHODS: All femoral CT slices according to their spatial locations with the Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) are first classified. Therefore, all CT slices are divided into upper, middle or lower segments of femur head. Then the femur head areas can be segmented with the Conditional Generative Adversarial Network (CGAN) for each part. The Convolutional Autoencoder is employed to reduce dimensions and extract features of femur head, and finally K-means clustering is used for an unsupervised classification of the early ONFH. RESULTS: To invalidate the effectiveness of the proposed approach, the experiments on the dataset with 120 patients are carried out. The experimental results show that the segmentation accuracy is higher than 95%. The Convolutional Autoencoder can reduce the dimension of data, the Peak Signal- to-Noise Ratios (PSNRs) are better than 34dB for inputs and outputs. Meanwhile, there is a great intra-category similarity, and a significant inter-category difference. CONCLUSION: The research on the classification of the early ONFH has a valuable clinical merit, and hopefully it can assist physicians to apply more individualized treatment for patient.

Calculation method to predict postoperative limb length in patients undergoing THA following developmental dysplasia of hips.

BACKGROUND: Limb length discrepancy (LLD) is one of the main cause of dissatisfaction after total hip arthroplasty (THA). The teardrop-lesser trochanter method can accurately predict and analyze LLD for healthy people. However, for patients with preoperative LLD, no method for predicting postoperative LLD is currently available, and these patients are highly susceptible to more severe LLD after THA. Accordingly, this study proposed a calculation method to predict postoperative limb length for these patients. METHODS: Eighty patients who underwent THA between May 2016 and October 2018 due to unilateral developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) were evaluated. Relevant parameters were measured from radiographs of full-length lower limbs, e.g. the distance between the rotation center of the hip and the midpoint of the tibial plafond and the distance between the point which was marked at the same height as the lesser trochanter on the anatomical long axis of the femur and the midpoint of the tibial plafond. Then, a mathematical model was established by simplifying the structure from the hip to the ankle. The relationship between the placement position of the prosthesis and the LLD value was calculated by Law of Sines and Iterative Calculation. RESULTS: The preoperatively predicted LLD values and the postoperatively measured LLD values were compared, yielding a mean absolute difference of 3.7 (range, 0.1 to 8.6) mm. The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) of the two parameters exhibited strong reliability (ICC = 0.911, 95%CI, 0.795 to 0.955). The Bland-Altman plot also showed good conformity between the two parameters. CONCLUSIONS: The proposed calculation method effectively predicted the postoperative LLD using preoperative parameters. Despite the complexity of the method, it can go a long way towards reducing the occurrence of severe postoperative LLD in DDH-THA.

[Application of preoperative digital-template planning in total hip arthroplasty via direct anterior approach].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the accuracy of preoperative digital-template planning in total hip arthroplasty (THA) via direct anterior approach (DAA) and its effect on the short-term effectiveness. METHODS: The clinical data of 77 patients (109 hips) with osteonecrosis of femoral head who underwent THA via DAA between January 2016 and May 2018 was retrospectively analyzed. According to the type of template, patients were divided into digital-template group (group A, 40 patients, 56 hips) and conventional-template group (group B, 37 patients, 53 hips). There was no significant difference in age, gender, body mass index, the stages of osteonecrosis of femoral head, and preoperative Harris hip score (HHS) ( P>0.05). The operation time, intraoperative blood loss, frequencies of intraoperative fluoroscopy, and complications were recorded. Otherwise, the consistency rate of preoperative planning and practical prosthesis size was analyzed. Position of acetabular prosthesis and femoral prosthesis alignment were measured on anteroposterior X-ray film of the pelvis at 3 months after operation. HHS was used to evaluate clinical function. RESULTS: The consistency rate of preoperative planning and practical acetabular prosthesis size was significantly higher in group A (80.4%, 45/56) than that in group B (62.3%, 33/53), showing significant difference ( χ 2=4.38, P=0.04). But there was no significant difference in the consistency rate of preoperative planning and practical femoral prosthesis size between group A (83.9%, 47/56) and group B (79.2%, 42/53）( χ 2=0.40, P=0.53). The prosthesis abductions were (40.7±6.4)° in group A and (38.8±7.3)° in group B; the femoral prosthesis alignment deviations were (0.1±1.8)° in group A and (0.3±1.7)° in group B. There was no significant difference in the prosthesis abduction and femoral prosthesis alignment deviation between 2 groups ( P>0.05). No prosthesis sinking or loosening occurred during follow-up. The operation time and frequencies of intraoperative fluoroscopy were less in group A than those in group B ( P<0.05). But there was no significant difference in intraoperative blood loss between 2 groups ( t=1.92, P=0.06). The complication occurred in 1 hip of group A and 6 hips of group B, with no significant difference ( P=0.06). All patients were followed up 6-22 months (mean 13.8 months) in group A and 6-24 months (mean, 14.6 months) in group B. At last follow-up, the HHS scores were 91.8±3.1 in group A and 92.6±4.2 in group B, and the difference was not significant ( t=1.14, P=0.26). CONCLUSION: Preoperative digital-template planning in THA via DAA is accurate, which can reduce the operation time and frequencies of intraoperative fluoroscopy without enhancing the risk of complication.