VALIDATION AND USEFULNESS OF AN ACETABULAR ALIGNMENT GUIDE IN CASE OF LATERAL DECUBITUS POSITION FOR TOTAL HIP ARTHROPLASTY

Purpose Placement of the acetabular cup in accurate and optimal position is important in total hip arthroplasty (THA) to obtain satisfactory result. On the other hand, inaccurate manual cup placement with conventional cup placement guide was reported. We therefore have been applied the mechanical acetabular alignment guide for accurate cup placement. The purpose of this study was to validate the accuracy of the acetabular alignment guide for total hip arthroplasty. Materials and methods Between 2003 and 2014, 52 primary THAs were performed in 48 patients with using the acetabular alignment guide by one surgeon (HT). There were 42 female and 6 male with a mean age at operation of 71.1 years old (47 to 91). The original diagnosis were osteoarthritis in 43 patients (46 hips), and avascular necrosis of femoral head in 5 patients (6 hips). Used acetabular implants were Stryker® Trident AD HA cup in 24 hips and Wright medical® Acetabular Cup System in 28 hips. After completion of anesthesia, half pins were inserted at the both anterior superior iliac spine vertically and the frame was attached to the pins horizontally in supine position. Then, the patients were placed in lateral decubitus position. Finally, the alignment rod, which indicated the optimal direction of the cup (abduction angle 40°, ante-version angle 20°), was connected to the frame. All operations were done by postero-lateral approach. Assessment of the cup abduction angle and ante-version angle was performed by Lewinnek9s method using postoperative AP radiograph in supine position. Results The average cup abduction angle was 41.9±6.1° and ante-version angle was 15.2±4.1° (corrected ante-version angle was 20.2±4.1°). In 49 hips (94%) out of 52 hips, cup was placed within safe zone which was described by Lewinnek (from 30° to 50° of abduction angle, from 5° to 25° of ante-version angle). We had only 3 outliers which abduction angles were 25, 27, and 52 degrees. In terms of the ante-version angle, there was no outlier. Discussion Our study showed that acetabular alignment guide could help accurate cup placement in THA. To hold the patients in true lateral decubitus position during THA is quite difficult and pelvis can tilt intraoperatively, sometimes resulting in malposition of the cup. The acetabular alignment guide used in this study was stabilized firmly to both iliac crests with two half pins of external fixator. Once we attach a cup angle guide to the acetabular guide frame in supine position, we can know the exact direction for cup placement without being affected by change of the pelvic orientation. We conclude that the acetabular alignment guide is useful tool in case of lateral decubitus position for THA.