Clinical Interventions in Aging (Sep 2019)
A simple method to minimize leg length discrepancy in hip hemiarthroplasty
Abstract
Guodong Wang,1,2 Ai Guo,1 Fei Yu,1 Bo Yang,1 Haomiao Yu,1 Naicheng Diao,1 Lifeng Ma,1 Hua Qiang,2 Erhong Zhao2 1Department of Orthopaedics, Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100050, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Orthopaedics, Beijing Tongren Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100730, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Ai GuoDepartment of Orthopaedics, Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University, No 95, YongAn Road, Xicheng District, Beijing 100050, People’s Republic of ChinaTel +86 106 313 8293Email [email protected]: We developed a simple method to minimize leg length discrepancy (LLD) during hip arthroplasty. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the accuracy of the method.Patients and methods: A total of 47 patients who suffered from unilateral femoral neck fracture and underwent hip hemiarthroplasty between 2015 and 2018 were enrolled in this study. We measured the diameter of the contralateral femoral head (D) and the distance (L) between the center of the femoral head and the top of lesser trochanter in the antero-posterior pelvic X-ray view before the operation, the ratio (R) of D to L was calculated. During the operation, the diameter of the femoral head (d) was measured using a Vernier caliper. Then, the distance should be obtained from the center of the femoral head prosthesis to the lesser trochanter was calculated according to the contralateral ratio R.Results: The mean LLD was 4.4±3.2 mm (−4.0 to 11.1 mm), 80.9% of the patients had LLD <6 mm, 93.6% of the patients with LLD <10 mm, only 6.4% ≥10 mm LLD.Conclusion: This method is a simple, cost-effective, fast and accurate way to reduce the postoperative leg length discrepancy.Keywords: leg length discrepancy, hip arthroplasty, femoral neck fracture, contralateral side, measurement
