Alteration of the hip joint centre during acetabular reaming

Change of the hip joint centre location during preparation of the acetabular cavity for the acetabular component can affect the outcome of total hip arthroplasty. Deviations from the preoperative geometry can compromise an otherwise successful operation with regard to hip dislocations, leg length inequality and range of motion of the hip joint. Eighteen acetabula from pelvic specimens were measured before and after acetabular reaming to determine the change of hip centre location. Two different acetabular reamers were applied to the acetabular cavity: a chamfered reamer intended for minimal invasive hip surgery (MIS) and a conventional hemispherical reamer. An optical 3D scanning system created 3D models of the cavities prior to and after the reaming procedure. The two 3D models were merged into a single 3D model and displacements in all three dimensions were calculated The results showed no significant difference between MIS and conventional reaming with regard to transition vector length (p=0.9). The mean length of the transition vector was 3.6 mm (SD. 2.4 mm). Our findings suggest that the alteration of the hip centre location is not influenced by the changes made to the MIS reamers in comparison with conventional reamers. In comparison with previous studies the drift of the hip centre caused by the acetabular reaming is reduced due to new reaming techniques and prosthesis designs.