Finding patients after 40 years: a very long term follow-up study of the Colonna arthroplasty

Between 1952 and 1965, surgeons at the Los Angeles Shriners Hospital managed 23 hips with the Colonna two-stage capsular arthroplasty, a procedure originally described in 1936 with very stringent indications for the treatment of childhood hip dysplasia. By using chart review, credit traces, telephone listings software, and the Internet, we found 17 (90%) of 19 patients known to be alive 40 years after surgery. Only four of 16 patients questioned have not undergone total hip arthroplasty, and these patients were no better candidates for the Colonna arthroplasty than were the 12 patients who have required hip-replacement surgery. We do not support revival of this now obscure procedure. However, we do attest that the average clinical investigator currently has access to tools that allow reliable location of patients for very long term follow-up. This technology will improve the accuracy and statistical power of outcomes research.