ABSTRACT
Objective:To compare the prosthesis locations and postoperative hip functions between supercapsular percutaneously-assisted total hip (SuperPATH) approach and traditional posterolateral approach (PLA) in total hip arthroplasty.Methods:A retrospective analysis was conducted of the 107 patients who had undergone unilateral total hip arthroplasty at Department of Orthopedic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital to Soochow University from August 2016 to February 2019. They were divided into 2 groups according to their surgical approaches. In the SuperPATH group of 54 cases, there were 20 males and 34 females with an age of (64.3±9.1) years; in the PLA group of 53 cases, there were 20 males and 33 females with an age of (62.2±10.6) years. The 2 groups were compared in terms of abduction angle, ratio of abduction angle to safety zone, anteversion angle, ratio of anteversion angle to safety zone, retroversion angle, incidence of retroversion, and differences in eccentricity and lower limb length on the first day after operation, and Harris hip scores at 1 week, 3 months and the last follow-up postoperatively. Their complications were also recorded as well.Results:There were no statistically significant differences in the preoperative general data between the 2 groups, showing comparability ( P>0.05). The postoperative imaging data were complete for the 107 patients who had been followed up satisfactorily for 14 to 36 months (average, 25 months). The SuperPATH group had significantly larger retroversion angle (13.6°±9.6°) and incidence of retroversion (18.5%, 10/54), significantly smaller difference in eccentricity [0.26 (0.13,0.49) cm], and significantly higher Harris hip score [(74.8±7.8) points] at one week after surgery than those in the PLA group [3.0°±1.0°; 5.7%, 3/53; 0.38 (0.13,0.70) cm; (72.0±6.7) points] ( P<0.05). There were no statistically significant differences between the 2 groups in abduction angle, ratio of abduction angle to safety zone, anteversion angle, ratio of anteversion angle to safety zone, difference in lower limb length, or Harris hip scores at 3 months or the last follow-up postoperatively (all P>0.05). Follow-ups in both groups observed no more than one case of dislocation which responded to manual reduction. Conclusion:The minimally invasive SuperPATH approach may obtain better femoral eccentricity and higher early hip function scores than the traditional posterolateral approach, but may lead to a higher incidence of retroversion after prosthesis placement.