Revision total hip arthroplasty with a Kerboull plate: comparative outcomes using standard versus dual mobility cups

Instability is a major complication in revision total hip arthroplasty (THA). Dual mobility (DM) cups were shown to reduce the risk of post-operative implant dislocation. Few case-series studies assessed the outcomes of cemented DM cups when associated to acetabular reconstruction antiprotrusio cages. No published comparative studies were found to look for outcome differences between standard cups (SC) and DM cups in first revision THA associated with a Kerboull plate (KP) and acetabular bone grafting.

This is a retrospective comparative study of two groups of patients in two institutions. All cases were first revision THA with KP reconstruction; a cemented standard cup (SC) was used in one institution (THA-SC group) while a cemented DM cup was used in the second institution (THA-DM group). The posterolateral approach and the same technique for KP placement, the cross technique, were performed in both groups. Primary outcomes were dislocation and revision rates. Survivorship and clinical and radiological results were set to be secondary outcomes. There were ten patients (13 hips) in the first group and 16 patients (16 hips) in the second with a mean follow-up clinical and radiological evaluation of 74.2 ± 47.9 months.

Besides age, no significant demographic differences were present between both groups. There were three dislocations (23%) in the first group treated with close reduction compared to none in the second (p = 0.04). No further episode of dislocation or revision surgery occurred until the last follow-up in both groups. The mean Harris Hip Scores for the THA-SC and THA-DM groups were 87.5 ± 10.9 and 87.4 ± 12.1, respectively. When present, radiolucent lines were less than 1 mm thick and were non-progressive in both groups. In all patients, complete trabeculation remodeling or cortical repair of the graft was observed.

The cup type was the single variable which could account for the observed dislocation rate difference. The mid-term results of using DM cups with KP in first revision THA seem very encouraging. Our findings add to the previously published results on the excellent outcomes in terms of stability in revision THA when using DM cups.