Mortality after hip resurfacing versus total hip arthroplasty in young patients: a single surgeon experience

The aims of this study were to investigate the following questions: (I) what are the mortality rates in patients age 55 years and younger who underwent a hip resurfacing arthroplasty (HRA) versus a standard total hip arthroplasty (THA)? (II) is the type of operation independently associated with mortality?

The database of a single high-volume surgeon was reviewed for patient's age 55 years and younger who underwent a hip arthroplasty between 2002 and 2010. This yielded 505 HRA patients and 124 THA patients. Chi-square analysis was performed to identify a 5-year mortality rate difference between the two cohorts. Multivariable Cox-Regression analyses were used to determine whether the type of operation was independently associated with mortality.

There were 8 mortalities (1.6%) in the HRA cohort and 11 (8.9%) in the THA cohort, a statistically significant difference (P<0.001) on univariate analysis. Low mortality rates produced underpowered multivariate models.

We have demonstrated that patients age 55 and younger who undergo HRA have a significantly lower mortality rate than those undergoing THA. This is consistent with multiple previously published large database studies.