Dislocation is a serious complication of total hip arthroplasty occurring in up to 9% of cases. Recurrent dislocation accounts for 4% of revisions in the Swedish Hip Arthroplasty Study. Soft tissue balancing is one of the factors, independent of the surgical approach used, that is involved in producing a stable total hip replacement. We describe a proximal referencing system for use with the Charnley low friction arthrosplasty (LFA), which optimises this factor. The dislocation rate, using this method, is 0.3% (in 333 cases performed by a single surgeon over a 5 year period). This system should prove valuable to orthopaedic surgeons in training, ensuring they achieve correct soft tissue balance in total hip arthroplasty.
Association Between Surgical Approach and Major Surgical Complications in Patients Undergoing Total Hip Arthroplasty
