Abstract
Introduction
There is increasing interest in the functional positions the pelvis assumes with activities of daily living and its effect on acetabular cup orientation. A number of systems are commercially available to assess these movements, and attempt to position the acetabular component of a total hip replacement in a patient specific safe zone.
However, these functional positions are assessed pre operatively when the patient still has the arthritis which may affect the range of movement of the hips, and thus affect the functional position of the pelvis. Obviously the planned acetabular position must take into account any changes in the functional movement of the pelvis as a result of the surgery.
Ishida et al showed that a pelvis with more than a 10° anterior tilt when standing can be expected to correct towards neutral by 12 months post-surgery. However many of Ishida's cases were dysplastic. Hip arthritis in the Caucasian population is far less likely due to dysplasia and this may affect these pelvic tilt changes post-operatively.
Methods
120 patients who underwent total hip replacement by two surgeons through a posterior approach had had their acetabular planning based on functional imaging according to the Optimized Ortho Protocol (Optimized Ortho, Sydney Australia). They were re-assessed at 12 months post-surgery to determine the changes in their functional pelvic tilts. The Optimized Ortho protocol includes lateral radiographs with the patient standing, sitting forward about to lift off a seat, stepping up with the contralateral leg and a limited supine CT. The functional views are designed to display common functional activities.
Results
There was minimal change in pelvic position post-operatively when supine. Patients with a significant anterior tilt when standing tended to revert to a more neutral position. Moreover, patients with a significant posterior tilt also tended to correct towards neutral when standing.
The seated forward positions changed from pre to post surgery. Those patients who has a large seated posterior pelvic rotation, corrected significantly towards neutral post operation.
Conclusions
These predicted standing changes are similar to those seen by Ishida and are important for planning patient specific positioning of acetabular components. There are no previous reports on the changes in forward sitting position. Confounding contra-lateral issues need to be taken into account when planning these predicted changes.
