Nerve palsy is a well-described complication
following total hip arthroplasty, but is highly distressing and
disabling. A nerve palsy may cause difficulty with the post-operative
rehabilitation, and overall mobility of the patient. Nerve palsy
may result from compression and tension to the affected nerve(s)
during the course of the operation via surgical manipulation and
retractor placement, tension from limb lengthening or compression
from post-operative hematoma. In the literature, hip dysplasia,
lengthening of the leg, the use of an uncemented femoral component, and
female gender are associated with a greater risk of nerve palsy.
We examined our experience at a high-volume, tertiary care referral
centre, and found an overall incidence of 0.3% out of 39 056 primary
hip arthroplasties. Risk factors found to be associated with the
incidence of nerve palsy at our institution included the presence
of spinal stenosis or lumbar disc disease, age younger than 50,
and smoking. If a nerve palsy is diagnosed, imaging is mandatory
and surgical evacuation or compressive haematomas may be beneficial.
As palsies are slow to recover, supportive care such as bracing,
therapy, and reassurance are the mainstays of treatment. Cite this article:
Fractures of the hip are common, often occurring
in frail elderly patients, but also in younger fit healthy patients following
trauma. They have a significant associated mortality and major social
and financial implications to patients and health care providers.
Many guidelines are available for the management of these patients,
mostly recommending early surgery for the best outcomes. As a result,
healthcare authorities now put pressure on surgical teams to ‘fast
track’ patients with a fracture of the hip, often misquoting the
available literature, which in itself can be confusing and even
conflicting. This paper has been written following an extensive review of
the available literature. An attempt is made to clarify what is
meant by early surgery (expeditious Cite this article:
Our aim was to analyse the long-term functional outcome of two
forms of surgical treatment for active patients aged >
70 years
with a displaced intracapsular fracture of the femoral neck. Patients
were randomised to be treated with either a hemiarthroplasty or
a total hip arthroplasty (THA). The outcome five years post-operatively
for this cohort has previously been reported. We present the outcome
at 12 years post-operatively. Initially 252 patients with a mean age of 81.1 years (70.2 to
95.6) were included, of whom 205 (81%) were women. A total of 137
were treated with a cemented hemiarthroplasty and 115 with a cemented
THA. At long-term follow-up we analysed the modified Harris Hip
Score (HHS), post-operative complications and intra-operative data
of the patients who were still alive.Aims
Patients and Methods
There are two techniques widely used to determine the rotational
alignment of the components in total knee arthroplasty (TKA); gap
balancing (GB) and measured resection (MR). Which technique is the
best remains controversial. We aimed to investigate this in a systematic
review and meta-analysis. In accordance with the methods of Cochrane, databases were searched
for all randomised controlled trials in the literature between January
1986 and June 2015 comparing radiographic and clinical outcomes
between the use of these two tecniques. Meta-analysis involved the
use of the Revman5.3 software provided by Cochrane collaboration.Aims
Materials and Methods
Posterior tilt of the pelvis with sitting provides biological
acetabular opening. Our goal was to study the post-operative interaction
of skeletal mobility and sagittal acetabular component position. This was a radiographic study of 160 hips (151 patients) who
prospectively had lateral spinopelvic hip radiographs for skeletal
and implant measurements. Intra-operative acetabular component position
was determined according to the pre-operative spinal mobility. Sagittal
implant measurements of ante-inclination and sacral acetabular angle were
used as surrogate measurements for the risk of impingement, and
intra-operative acetabular component angles were compared with these.Aims
Materials and Methods
To demonstrate, with concrete examples, the value of in-depth
exploration and comparison of data published in National Joint Arthroplasty
registry reports. The author reviewed published current reports of National Joint
Arthroplasty registries for findings of current significance to
current orthopaedic practice.Aims
Patients and Methods
We recently published a paper comparing the incidence
of adverse outcomes after unicompartmental and total knee arthroplasty
(UKA and TKA). The conclusion of this study, which was in favour
of UKA, was dismissed as “biased” in a review in Cite this article:
The purpose of our study is to summarise the current scientific
findings regarding the impact of obesity on total hip arthroplasty
(THA); specifically the influence of obesity on the timing of THA,
incidence of complications, and effect on clinical and functional
outcomes. We performed a systematic review that was compliant with the
Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses
guidelines to identify prospective studies from the PubMed/Medline,
Embase, and Cochrane Library databases that evaluated primary THA
in obese (body mass index (BMI) ≥ 30 kg/m2) patients.Aims
Materials and Methods
Periacetabular osteotomy is an effective way of treating symptomatic
hip dysplasia. We describe a new minimally invasive technique using
a modification of the Smith-Peterson approach. We performed a prospective, longitudinal cohort study to assess
for any compromise in acetabular correction when using this approach,
and to see if the procedure would have a higher complication rate
than that quoted in the literature for other approaches. We also
assessed for any improvement in functional outcome. From 168 consecutive patients (189 hips) who underwent acetabular
correction between March 2010 and March 2013 we excluded those who
had undergone previous pelvic surgery for DDH and those being treated
for acetabular retroversion. The remaining 151 patients (15 men,
136 women) (166 hips) had a mean age of 32 years (15 to 56) and the
mean duration of follow-up was 2.8 years (1.2 to 4.5). In all 90%
of cases were Tönnis grade 0 or 1. Functional outcomes were assessed
using the Non Arthritic Hip Score (NAHS), University of California,
Los Angeles (UCLA) and Tegner activity scores.Aims
Patients and Methods
Aims. The role of high tibial osteotomy (HTO) is being questioned by
the use of unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA) in the treatment
of medial compartment femorotibial osteoarthritis. Our aim was to
compare the outcomes of revision HTO or UKA to a total knee arthroplasty
(TKA) using computer-assisted surgery in matched groups of patients. Patients and Methods. We conducted a retrospective study to compare the clinical and
radiological
The optimal treatment for independent patients with a displaced
intracapsular fracture of the hip remains controversial. The recognised
alternatives are hemiarthroplasty and total hip arthroplasty. At
present there is no established standard of care, with both types
of arthroplasty being used in many centres. We conducted a feasibility study comparing the clinical effectiveness
of a dual mobility acetabular component compared with standard polyethylene
component in total hip arthroplasty for independent patients with
a displaced intracapsular fracture of the hip, for a 12-month period
beginning in June 2013. The primary outcome was the risk of dislocation
one year post-operatively. Secondary outcome measures were EuroQol
5 Dimensions, ICEpop CAPability measure for Older people, Oxford
hip score, mortality and re-operation.Aims
Patients and Methods
An evidence-based radiographic Decision Aid for meniscal-bearing
unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA) has been developed and
this study investigates its performance at an independent centre. Pre-operative radiographs, including stress views, from a consecutive
cohort of 550 knees undergoing arthroplasty (UKA or total knee arthroplasty;
TKA) by a single-surgeon were assessed. Suitability for UKA was
determined using the Decision Aid, with the assessor blinded to
treatment received, and compared with actual treatment received, which
was determined by an experienced UKA surgeon based on history, examination,
radiographic assessment including stress radiographs, and intra-operative
assessment in line with the recommended indications as described
in the literature.Aims
Patients and Methods
Our aim was to compare kinematic with mechanical alignment in
total knee arthroplasty (TKA). We performed a prospective blinded randomised controlled trial
to compare the functional outcome of patients undergoing TKA in
mechanical alignment (MA) with those in kinematic alignment (KA).
A total of 71 patients undergoing TKA were randomised to either
kinematic (n = 36) or mechanical alignment (n = 35). Pre- and post-operative
hip-knee-ankle radiographs were analysed. The knee injury and osteoarthritis
outcome score (KOOS), American Knee Society Score, Short Form-36,
Euro-Qol (EQ-5D), range of movement (ROM), two minute walk, and timed
up and go tests were assessed pre-operatively and at six weeks,
three and six months and one year post-operatively.Aims
Patients and Methods
Accurate characterisation of fractures is essential in fracture management trials. However, this is often hampered by poor inter-observer agreement. This article describes the practicalities of defining the fracture population, based on the Neer classification, within a pragmatic multicentre randomised controlled trial in which surgical treatment was compared with non-surgical treatment in adults with displaced fractures of the proximal humerus involving the surgical neck. The trial manual illustrated the Neer classification of proximal humeral fractures. However, in addition to surgical neck displacement, surgeons assessing patient eligibility reported on whether either or both of the tuberosities were involved. Anonymised electronic versions of baseline radiographs were sought for all 250 trial participants. A protocol, data collection tool and training presentation were developed and tested in a pilot study. These were then used in a formal assessment and classification of the trial fractures by two independent senior orthopaedic shoulder trauma surgeons.Objectives
Methods
One method of femoral head preservation following avascular necrosis
(AVN) is core decompression and insertion of a tantalum rod. However,
there may be a high failure rate associated with this procedure.
The purpose of this study was to document the clinical and radiological
outcomes following total hip arthroplasty (THA) subsequent to failed
tantalum rod insertion. A total of 37 failed tantalum rods requiring total hip arthroplasty
were identified from a prospective database. There were 21 hips
in 21 patients (12 men and nine women, mean age 37 years, 18 to
53) meeting minimum two year clinical and radiographic follow-up
whose THAs were carried out between November 2002 and April 2013
(mean time between tantalum rod implantation and conversion to a
THA was 26 months, 6 to 72). These were matched by age and gender
to individuals (12 men, nine women, mean age 40 years, 18 to 58)
receiving THA for AVN without prior tantalum rod insertion.Aims
Patients and Methods
The aim of this study was to report the outcome following primary
fixation or a staged protocol for type C fractures of the tibial
plafond. We studied all patients who sustained a complex intra-articular
fracture (AO type C) of the distal tibia over an 11-year period.
The primary short-term outcome was infection. The primary long-term
outcome was the Foot and Ankle Outcome Score (FAOS).Aims
Patients and Methods
We aimed to determine whether there is evidence of improved patient
outcomes in Major Trauma Centres following the regionalisation of
trauma care in England. An observational study was undertaken using the Trauma Audit
and Research Network (TARN), Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) and
national death registrations. The outcome measures were indicators
of the quality of trauma care, such as treatment by a senior doctor
and clinical outcomes, such as mortality in hospital.Aims
Patients and Methods
To determine whether there is any difference in infection rate
at 90 days between trauma operations performed in laminar flow and
plenum ventilation, and whether infection risk is altered following
the installation of laminar flow (LF). We assessed the impact of plenum ventilation (PV) and LF on the
rate of infection for patients undergoing orthopaedic trauma operations.
All NHS hospitals in England with a trauma theatre(s) were contacted
to identify the ventilation system which was used between April
2008 and March 2013 in the following categories: always LF, never
LF, installed LF during study period (subdivided: before, during
and after installation) and unknown. For each operation, age, gender,
comorbidity, socio-economic deprivation, number of previous trauma
operations and surgical site infection within 90 days (SSI90) were
extracted from England’s national hospital administrative Hospital
Episode Statistics database. Crude and adjusted odds ratios (OR)
were used to compare ventilation groups using hierarchical logistic
regression. Subanalysis was performed for hip hemiarthroplasties.Aims
Patients and Methods