Integrity of repaired posterior structures after THA.

Overview

Various studies have questioned the benefit of repairing the posterior structures after total hip arthroplasty because their integrity can appear disrupted at followup. However, these studies did not directly examine the posterior structures. We hypothesized that repaired posterior structures remain intact after total hip arthroplasty, and that their integrity could be evaluated by ultrasonography. We performed evaluations in the hips of 18 patients that had either the short external rotators and capsule repaired, or the capsule, short external rotators, and quadratus femoris repaired. Nine patients in each group were examined using ultrasonography at 6 weeks and 3 months postoperatively. The short external rotators and capsule were intact in 89% of patients in both groups at 6 weeks and 3 months postoperatively. At both time points, the quadratus femoris had continuity in 44% of hips with the standard posterior repair and 78% of hips with the enhanced posterior repair (p = 0.15). Ultrasonography can be used to effectively assess the integrity of the posterior repair after total hip arthroplasty. The posterior structures were intact in the majority of patients 3 months after total hip arthroplasty.