National trends in primary total hip arthroplasty in extremely young patients: a focus on bearing surface usage

The purpose of this study was to present national trends in primary total hip arthroplasty (THA) and bearing surface usage for patients 30 years and younger. Using the Healthcare-Cost-and-Utilization-Project Nationwide Inpatient Sample for the years 2006 to 2009, 8919 primary THA discharges (4454 coded by bearing surface) were identified in patients 30 years and younger. The most commonly used bearing surface was metal-on-metal (MoM), representing 37.6% of cases, followed by ceramic-on-ceramic (CoC) (24.6%), metal-on-polyethylene (MoP) (22.1%) and ceramic-on-polyethylene (15.7%). From 2006 to 2009, the percentage of THAs that used hard-on-hard bearing surfaces decreased (MoM: 42.9%-29.4%; CoC: 34.0%-19.7%).This decrease in hard-on-hard bearing surface usage presents a challenge for surgeons treating young patients to find other acceptable durable bearings that do not have the potential problems associated with MoM or CoC.