Does Time to Surgery Affect Outcomes for Periprosthetic Femur Fractures?

BACKGROUND: Periprosthetic femur fractures around total hip (THA) and total knee (TKA) arthroplasties are difficult complications to manage. With native hip fractures, delay to fixation has been correlated with an increase in postoperative mortality. The effect of time to definitive fixation of periprosthetic femur fractures around THA and TKA is not well established. The aim of our study is to evaluate the effect of time to definitive fixation on postoperative length of stay and mortality for patients with periprosthetic femur fractures around THA and TKA. METHODS: A review of 2537 arthroplasty patient charts yielded 235 patients who were diagnosed with a periprosthetic femur fracture at our institution from 2005 to 2014. Time to surgical management, length of stay, demographics, referral status, fracture classification, and fixation modality along with mortality was recorded for all patients. RESULTS: One hundred eighty patients met study inclusion (111 THAs, 69 TKAs). Average age was 79.2 years and 72.2% were female. The average time from admission to definitive fixation was 96.5 hours with 31.1% of patients having surgery within 48 hours after presenting to hospital. Postoperative length of stay and mortality were not affected by time to definitive fixation greater than 48 hours for either of the periprosthetic TKA or THA patient cohorts. Postoperative mortality within 1 year was 5.5% for all patients (6.3% THA, 4.3% TKA). CONCLUSION: The timing of fixation of periprosthetic femur fractures does not appear to affect postoperative length of stay or mortality within 1 year.

Evaluation of a patient specific femoral alignment guide for hip resurfacing.

A novel alternative to conventional instrumentation for femoral component insertion in hip resurfacing is a patient specific, computed tomography based femoral alignment guide. A benchside study using cadaveric femora was performed comparing a custom alignment guide to conventional instrumentation and computer navigation. A clinical series of twenty-five hip resurfacings utilizing a custom alignment guide was conducted by three surgeons experienced in hip resurfacing. Using cadaveric femora, the custom guide was comparable to conventional instrumentation with computer navigation proving superior to both. Clinical femoral component alignment accuracy was 3.7° and measured within ± 5° of plan in 20 of 24 cases. Patient specific femoral alignment guides provide a satisfactory level of accuracy and may be a better alternative to conventional instrumentation for initial femoral guidewire placement in hip resurfacing.

Computer navigation vs extramedullary guide for sagittal alignment of tibial components: radiographic study and meta-analysis.

Sagittal alignment of tibial components using computer navigation was compared with conventional methods. A radiologic study was performed using 110 total knee arthroplasties from 3 groups: computer navigation, cutting block with extramedullary guide, and manual tilt of extramedullary guide. Posterior tibial slopes were measured from radiographs and compared using statistical methods. The cutting block method was the most accurate, and computer navigation was the most precise. The manual tilt group had the greatest variance, significantly greater than computer navigation. There was no significant difference between groups with respect to the percentage of knees with posterior slope within 3° of the desired slope. Meta-analysis of 10 studies found no reduction in outliers with computer navigation. Computer navigation offers greatest precision but does not reduce the number of outliers.