Energy expenditure of femoral broaching in direct anterior total hip replacements—Comparison between manual and automated techniques

Introduction

Little information is known regarding the energy expenditure of the surgeon during total hip arthroplasty (THA). We sought to compare the energy expenditure associated with femoral broaching using two techniques: manual and automated.

Methods

We recorded energy expenditure, minute ventilation, heart rate, and total broaching time of a single surgeon while broaching the femoral canal during direct anterior THA using two different techniques: Manual broaching (n = 26) and automated broaching (n = 20).

Results

Manual broaching required a longer time than automated broaching (6.1 ± 1.1 vs. 3.7 ± 0.9 min; p < 0.001) with an increase in energy expenditure (32.6 ± 7.0 vs. 16.0 ± 7.1 Calories; p < 0.001). Heart rate was higher with manual broaching (99.4 ± 9.8 vs. 90.1 ± 9.8 beats per min; p = 0.003), along with minute ventilation (36.5 ± 7.0 vs. 30.3 ± 5.8 L/min; p = 0.003). There were no intraoperative complications.

Conclusions

Automated femoral broaching during THA can decrease the energy expenditure of broaching by 50% and time of broaching by 40%, when compared to manual technique.

Clinical Trial Registration

This research was not a clinical trial.