Abstract
Consecutive patients undergoing primary THA were consented from the practices of 3 arthroplasty surgeons. One surgeon performed all DAA THA's, the other two surgeons performed all posterior THA's. All patients received a similar design of uncemented acetabular and femoral components and were managed with similar pain management and rehabilitation protocols
One hundred twenty patients (60 patients per group) with similar age, sex and BMI as well as similar pre-operative health and function scores were followed. Functional recovery was faster in patients with DAA on the basis of TUG and M-FIM assessed on post-operative days 1, 2, 3 but only TUG remained different at 2 weeks. No differences in TUG, M-FIM, UCLA & Harris Hip scores, SF-12 scores, were observed between the groups at 6 and 12 weeks. Comparison of visual analogue pain scores, LOS, time to return to activities of daily living and surgical complexity also revealed no significant differences. DAA offered a faster post-operative recovery after primary THA compared to the PA. Equivalence was achieved somewhere between 2- and 6-weeks post-operatively.
Gait analysis comparisons reveal similar kinematic gains in the frontal and sagittal planes, with increased motion in the transverse plane with DAA at 6 months. Individual muscle testing showed persistent ER weakness with posterior hips at 3 months.
