Introduction: Although use of modular femoral components in revision hip arthroplasty is widely accepted, many still question the need for modular versatility in primary THA. The purpose of our study was to examine in a large cohort the percentage of hips in which femoral component version was changed to optimize stability or avoid prosthetic impingement of the THA construct. We hypothesized that the percentage of hips needing version change in routine primary THA would be low.

Methods: This prospective study analyzed 1000 consecutive primary THAs using a modular S-ROM (DePuy) stem performed by 3 surgeons at 3 institutions all via a posterior approach. Mean patient age at surgery was 57.5 years; 51.6% were male. The difference in version between the femoral sleeve placed anatomically and the femoral stem was recorded intra-operatively.

Results: Femoral component version was changed in 47.9% of hips. Logistic regression analysis showed no correlation between the likelihood of changing stem version and patient age (p=0.87), gender (p=0.23), diagnosis (p=0.54), or surgeon (p=0.27). 10 hips (1%) experienced early dislocation (within 3 months post-op). With the numbers available, there was a slight trend of lower dislocation rate in hips where stem version was changed (0.6%) versus those in which it was not (1.5%, p=0.16, chi squared).

Conclusion: The incidence of femoral version change in routine primary THA was much higher than expected. It was difficult to predict the need to alter version based on clinical variables including diagnosis. Thus, we conclude it may be advantageous to routinely use a stem that allows variable version as it is not possible to pre-operatively determine when changing version will be required. In addition, we surmise our low dislocation rate compared to historical controls of THA performed using a posterior approach was aided by the ability to adjust version in almost half of our patients.