Pelvic motion during total hip arthroplasty with translateral and posterolateral approaches

We devised a special instrument to assess intraoperative pelvic motion and used this device to measure intraoperative pelvic motion in three dimensions. A total of 100 total hip arthroplasties (THAs) were performed using this device. Two approaches were utilized: 52 THAs were performed with the posterolateral approach and the remaining 48 with the translateral approach. The average angle of pelvic tilt in the THAs with the translateral approach was less than that with the posterolateral approach. The average internal rotation angle was 1.75 degrees with the translateral approach and 14.25 degrees with the posterolateral approach. With the posterolateral approach, the internal rotation of the pelvis frequently occurred during retraction of the femur using a Hohmann's retractor placed at the anterior rim of the acetablum, with flexion and internal rotation of the affected hip.