Abstract
Introduction
Lewinnek's Safe-Zone gives recommendations only for cup placement in total hip arthroplasty while the orientation of the neck isn't considered. Furthermore the criteria for cup placement are not clearly defined and the ranges for cup orientation are considerably large. This study introduces new recommandations for the combined placement of both total hip components, when both, cup and stem, are considered. This defines the new dynamic combined safe-zone (cSafe-Zone) which gives clear directions for the optimal combined orientation of both components in order to maximize the intended range of movement (iROM) while reducing the risk for prosthetic impingement and dislocation.
Material and Methods
The combined safe-zone outlines the area that encloses all component orientations that achieve the predefined iROM without prosthetic impingement. A computerized 3D-model of a total hip prosthesis was established that does systematically test all design parameters semi-automatically in order to identify those component positions that fulfill the predefined conditions. The analysis was carried out for straight stems, anatomic stems and short stems. The iROM is composed of basic movements like flexion/extension, internal/external rotation, ab/adduction and combination of these movements that the patient should reach and that are commonly accepted as physiologic hip movements. The orientation of the cup was varied between 20° and 70° of inclination and −10° of retro- to 40° anteversion. Stem antetorsion was tested from −10° retro- to 40°-antetorsion and CCD-angle from 110° to 150°. Head-size and head/neck ratio were additional parameters.
Results
The new combined safe-zone has a dynamic location and has a polygonal outer boundary. It is smaller than Lewinnek's safe-zone. Its size and location within the cup inclination/anteversion diagram depends on the antetorsion and the CCD-angle of the stem. It can be demonstrated that a low-anteverted stem should be combined with a high-anteverted cup and vice versa, i.e. cup anteversion and stem antetorsion are linearly but inversely correlated. This is true for a straight stem as well as for anatomic and for short stems. The size of the cSafe-Zone is largest when the socket is radiographically anteverted between 20° and 25°. The neck/shaft-angle (CCD-angle) and the anatomic design do have a high impact on the preferred antetorsion of the stem. A straight 130°-CCD-stem is best implanted in about 15°+/−4degree of antetorsion while an anatomic 127°-CCD-stem can be implanted in a lower degree of antetorsion. Increasing the head/neck ratio increases the cSafe-Zone too and gives room for a lower cup inclination which increases the jumping distance. The optimal CCD-angle of a straight stem is 127°+/−3 degree.
Conclusion
The new combined safe-zone (cSafe-zone) gives well-defined recommendations for cup and stem placement taking into account the dynamic interrelationship between cup and stem. In extending Lewinnek's recommendations it defines how both the cup and the stem should be oriented relative to each other and how the component's orientations are optimized in order to achieve the highest safety against prosthetic impingement while reaching the highest range of movement which is especially important for high-performance materials and in young and active patients.
