Abstract
Background: To investigate the postoperative outcome of decompresed hip following contralateral replacement in patients with bilateral osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH).
M ethods: This study retrospectively reviewed 30 patients with bilateral ONFH who underwent one-stage total hip arthroplasty (THA) and multiple drilling decompression from February 2014 to February 2016. For all patients, alendronate was prescribed. Postoperative Harris Hip Scores (HHSs), Oxford Hip Scores (OHSs), Self-Administered Patient Satisfaction (SAPS), hip internal and external rotation angles, and the time of one-leg standing were evaluated. All patients were followed up for an average of 30.33 months (ranged from 8 months to 48 months).
Results: Twenty-four patients had no progression or collapse on radiographic evaluation within 2 years postoperatively. The following scores of the decompressed sides were significantly lower than those of the replaced sides: HHSs (mean: 96.5 versus 98.25, P <0.05), SAPS (mean: 96.35 versus 99.48, P <0.001), internal rotation (mean: 27.58° versus 30.50°, P <0.05), and the time of single-leg standing (mean: 24.17 s versus 31.83 s, P <0.05). There was no significant difference in OHSs and external rotation between the sides. The remaining 6 patients underwent two-stage THA on the decompressed sides within 2 years. Four of them underwent THA for severe pain and femoral head collapse. The other 2 patients showed no progression on radiographic evaluation but complained of an uncomfortable feeling in the joint.
Conclusions: One-stage THA and multiple drilling decompression are effective surgical procedures for bilateral ONFH at different stages. However, a few patients with no progression on radiographic evaluation may require two-stage THA on the decompressed sides because of more pain, poorer internal rotation, and weaker gluteal muscle strength when compared with the replaced sides.
Keywords: osteonecrosis of the femoral head, postoperative satisfaction, total hip arthroplasty, multiple drilling decompression