Effects of anterior capsule repair during total hip arthroplasty using the anterolateral approach in the supine position

Purpose

Soft-tissue tension is an important factor for preventing dislocations after total hip arthroplasty. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of anterior capsule repair for preventing dislocation during primary total hip arthroplasty using the anterolateral approach in the supine position (ALS).

Methods

This study retrospectively compared the clinical and radiographic outcomes between patients who underwent total hip arthroplasty via the ALS with or without anterior capsule repair at our institute. The cup (radiographic inclination and radiographic anteversion) and stem alignment, operative time, clinical score, and complication were evaluated.

Results

Among the 393 hips evaluated, 193 and 200 belonged to the resection and repair groups, respectively. There were significant differences in the inclination and anteversion of the cup and flexion insertion of the stem (42.3° vs. 40.3°, 15.8° vs. 19.8°, and 27.5% vs. 34.0%, respectively). No significant differences in operative time and postoperative Japanese Orthopedic Association hip score were noted. Early dislocation was more common in the resection group compared to the repair group (2 hips vs. 0 hip, respectively), albeit not significantly (1.03% vs. 0%, p ​= ​0.241).

Conclusion

Our results demonstrated that the clinical benefit of the anterior capsule repair for preventing dislocation was limited in ALS.