Direct Anterior Approach Total Hip Arthroplasty: An Adjunct to an Enhanced Recovery Pathway: Outcomes and Learning
Matthew D Free1, David H Owen1, Paul A Agius2
1Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Royal Hobart Hospital, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.
Background:
The aim of this study was to investigate whether the direct anterior approach (DAA) to total hip arthroplasty (THA) resulted in a shorter length of stay (LOS) in surgeons new to the approach when compared to their previously used approach. Perioperative complications were also assessed.
Methods:
We examined 93 DAA THA performed by 3 hip arthroplasty surgeons at a single institution comparing these to their previous 166 operations performed using the lateral or posterior approach.
Results:
Fixed-effects generalized linear modeling demonstrated that patients who underwent THA by the DAA had 26% shorter LOS than those who were operated on using lateral or posterior approaches (adjusted risk ratio = 0.74; 95% confidence interval = 0.65-0.84; P < .001). A greater proportion of DAA patients were discharged directly home (98% vs 87%, F (1,233) = 8.12, P = .005) and complication rates were comparable between groups.
Conclusion:
The DAA can reduce patient LOS and may be a valuable addition to enhanced recovery pathways. Our findings also suggest that surgeons transitioning to the DAA do not have an increased complication rate when compared to their previous approach.
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