Patient-specific guides improve hip arthroplasty surgical accuracy

Abstract

The role of patient-specific (PS) technology in total hip arthroplasty remains relatively unexplored. We asked whether PS guides: (1) Reduced average surgical errors? (2) Reduced outlier error frequencies? (3) Could predict the size of implants used? A single surgeon implanted femurs using either standard or PS guides and was blinded to the pre-operative plans. There were significant differences in median leg length errors between standard (3.3 mm) and PS groups (1.4 mm), U = 110, z = –2.3, p = 0.02. In contrast to the PS group, the standard group had significantly more outlier errors and frequently undersized implants. PS guides improve hip arthroplasty surgical accuracy.Abbreviations: PS: patient specific; THA: total hip arthroplasty; LLD: leg length discrepancies; HRA: hip resurfacing arthroplasty

Keywords:

• Hip arthroplasty
• patient-specific guides
• accuracy
• complications

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Embody Orthopaedic Ltd. and Joint Replacement Instruments Ltd. for kindly providing free of charge, and without condition, implants used in this study.

Disclosure statement

All authors confirm that no benefits in any form have been received or will be received from a commercial party related directly or indirectly to the subject of this article. However, implants have been received free of charge and solely for the purpose of independent research from Embody Orthopaedics Ltd. and Joint Replacement Instruments Ltd.

All investigations were conducted in conformity with ethical principles of research. Informed consent was not required as this study did not involve human subjects.

This work was performed at Imperial College London, Charing Cross Campus, U.K.

This manuscript has been seen and approved by all authors and is not published or under consideration for publication elsewhere in a similar form, in any language, except in abstract form.