Introduction: The aim of this study was to determine the incidence and outcome of dislocation after total hip arthroplasty at our unit.
Patients and methods: In total, 1727 primary total joint arthroplasties and 305 revision total hip arthroplasties were performed between 1993 and 1996 at our unit. We followed up 1567 (91%) of the primary hip arthroplasties and 284 (93%) of the revision hip arthroplasties at 8-11 years after surgery. Patients were traced by postal questionnaire, telephone interview or examination of case notes of the deceased.
Results: The dislocation rates by approach were 23 out of 555 (4.1%) for the posterior approach, 0 out of 120 (0%) for the Omega approach and 30 out of 892 (3.4%) for the modified Hardinge approach. Of dislocations after primary total hip arthroplasty, 58.5% were recurrent. The mean number of dislocations per patient was 2.81. Overall, 8.1% of revision total hip arthroplasties dislocated. 70% of these became recurrent. The mean number of dislocations per patient was 2.87. The vast majority of dislocations occurred within 2 months of surgery.
Discussion: To our knowledge, this is the largest multisurgeon audit of dislocation after total hip arthroplasty published in the UK. The follow-up of 8-11 years is longer than most comparable studies. The results of this study can be used to inform patients as to the risk and outcome of dislocation, as well as to the risk of further dislocation.