Abstract
Introduction
Acetabular revision surgery remains a technically demanding procedure with higher failure rates than primary total hip arthroplasty (THA). An acetabular component with three dimensional porous titanium and anatomic screw holes (Figure 1) was designed to allow the cup to be positioned anatomically and provide reliable fixation.
Methods
A prospective multicenter study of 193 cases (190 patients) was conducted to assess the midterm clinical outcomes of the revision titanium acetabular shell. Radiographs, demographics, Harris Hip Score (HHS), and Short Form 36 (SF-36) were collected preoperatively, at 6 weeks, 3 months, and annually thereafter to 5 years. The mean duration of follow-up was 3.36 years. The Paprosky classification was assessed intraoperatively. Short Form 6D (SF-6D) utility values were obtained by transforming SF-36 scores through the Brazier method and were analyzed for effect size.
Results
At time of surgery, mean patient age was 63.5 years and mean BMI was 28.1. 69 of the 193 cases were graded as 3A or 3B according to the Paprosky classification method. For all cases, Harris Hip Scores improved significantly (p < 0.001) from a preoperative mean score of 53.60 to a mean score of 86.15 at 1 year. These significant gains were maintained through 5 years, with a mean score of 87.35 at the 5-year time point. The Harris Hip Scores for Paprosky 3A and 3B cases also improved significantly (p < 0.001) from a preoperative mean score of 48.11 to a mean score of 85.45 at 1 year. These significant gains were maintained through 5 years, with a mean score of 85.65 at the 5-year time point.
Among the radiographs independently reviewed to date, no cup migration or unstable cups have been identified. There were 12 acetabular shell re-revisions reported, for infection (7), aseptic loosening (4) and recurrent dislocation (1). Three of the cases revised for aseptic loosening were Paprosky type 3A, and one was 3B.
For all cases, a clinically significant improvement in health utility was achieved by 3 months postoperative, with an effect size of 0.54. Clinically significant scores were maintained throughout the follow-up period, reaching an effect size of 0.64 at 5 years. Effect sizes were larger for cases with Paprosky classifications of 3A and 3B than the overall study population at all time points, reaching clinical significance at 3 months with an effect size of 0.64, and continuing to increase to an effect size of 1.19 at 5 years.
Conclusion
Even in patients with severe acetabular defects, next generation highly porous acetabular components with three dimensional porous titanium and anatomic screw holes provide excellent stability, predictable midterm biologic fixation, pain, and reduction, and improved clinical function and health utility.