Surgical technique: a simple technique for closing the capsule of the hip in posterolateral approach total hip arthroplasty.

Background: Repair of the posterior soft tissue via a posterolateral approach following total hip arthroplasty has been reported to mitigate the risk of dislocation. The joint capsule serves as the primary protective barrier, and while previous techniques for closure have been predominantly complex, we present a novel, simplified technique for joint capsule closure.

Methods: A total of 215 patients who underwent primary THA via the posterolateral approach at our hospital from May 2018 to December 2022 were retrospectively enrolled in this study: 111 patients had their joint capsules sutured using traditional methods, while 114 patients had their joint capsules sutured using the new technology.

Results: Compared to the traditional suture group, the novel joint capsular suture group exhibited shorter operation times (p = 0.004) and reduced postoperative drainage volumes (p < 0.001). There were no significant differences in intraoperative blood loss, acetabular anteversion angle and abduction angle between the two groups. Although the Harris scores at 2 weeks, 3 months, and 6 months after surgery were marginally greater in the novel joint capsular suture group than in the traditional suture group, these differences did not reach statistical significance. Regarding adverse reactions observed during follow-up, hematoma occurred in seven patients (6.6%), and dislocation occurred in four patients (3.6%) in the traditional suture group; conversely, within the new joint capsule suture group, there were only two patients (1.8%) of hematoma with no instances of dislocation recorded thus far.

Conclusions: The preliminary results show that this new capsular closure technique allows the joint capsule to close more tightly and is an effective technique for reducing the rate of early postoperative dislocation.