Early outcomes of 5G remote telesupervised robot assisted total hip arthroplasty in the treatment of Kaschin-Beck disease with hip problem / 中华骨科杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To evaluate the early clinical outcomes of 5G remote telesupervised robot assisted total hip arthroplasty in the treatment of Kaschin-Beck disease with hip problems in Tibet through retrospective analysis of the hip surgery cohort.Methods:According to the operation procedure, 55 Kaschin-Beck disease patients (59 hips) undergoing total hip arthroplasty from November 2020 to November 2021 in the Karub District People's Hospital in Qamdo were divided into the conventional THA group (cTHA) and the 5G remote telesupervised robot assisted THA group (rTHA). Two of them underwent cTHA on both hips, while the other two patients underwent cTHA and rTHA separately of each hip, and the rest underwent single hip surgeries. In the cTHA group, there were 30 patients (32 hips), 16 males (17 hips) and 14 females (15 hips), aged 56.56±9.33 years (range, 36-76 years); In the rTHA group, there were 27 patients (27 hips), 10 males and 17 females, aged 55.41±10.90 years (range, 24 to 79 years). Before operation, Harris hip score was recorded and femoral offset (FO) and leg length difference (LLD) were measured via X-ray images. The operation time was collected during the hip surgery and an average network delay of 172.28±36.58 ms and a 1.08% data packet loss ratio is obtained during telesupervision. 24 hours post-operatively, the FO and LLD were both measured via the X-ray images, as well as the inclination and anteversion of the acetabular cup. The Harris scores were collected in the following up. The operation time, FO, LLD, inclination, anteversion and Harris score were compared between the two groups.Results:All cases in both groups were followed up for an average of 9.39±2.43 months (range, 6-19 months). There were no significant differences in pre-operative FO and LLD, preoperative Harris scores or average follow-up time between the two groups. The operation time in rTHA group was 126.41±12.78 min, which is significantly longer than the time 88.81±8.83 min in cTHA group ( t=13.31, P<0.001). After operation, the FO was significantly increased and the LLD was significantly decreased ( P<0.05). The postoperative LLD was 0.63±0.65 cm in the robot group and 1.15±0.71 cm in the conventional group, the difference was statistically significant ( t=2.88, P=0.006). However, there was no significant difference in the FO, inclination and anteversion between the two groups post-operatively ( P>0.05). The Harris scores of both groups were significantly improved compared with that before the operation. Additionally, the Harris score of the two groups was significantly higher than that before surgery, and the postoperative Harris score of the rTHA was 69.00±12.33 higher than that of the cTHA (62.31±11.87), with statistical significance ( t=2.12, P=0.039). The ratio of excellence of Harris score was 19% (5/27) in the rTHA and 9% (3/32) in the cTHA, with no significant difference between groups (χ 2=1.05, P=0.522). Conclusion:Compared to conventional surgery, 5G remote telesupervised robot assisted total hip arthroplasty has more advantages in improving the joint functions in the treatment of hip problems caused by Kashin-beck disease in Tibet Autonomous Region, and facilitates more accurate adjustment of lower limb length difference, even though it consumes more operation time.