High Offset Stems Are Protective of Dislocation in High-Risk Total Hip Arthroplasty

Spinal stiffness has been shown to increase risk of dislocation due to impingement and instability. Increasing anteversion of the acetabular component has been suggested to prevent dislocation, but little has been discussed in terms of femoral or global offset restoration. The purpose of this study is to quantify dislocation rates after primary THA using standard versus high-offset femoral components and to determine how differences in offset affect impingement-free range of motion in a stiff spine cohort using a novel impingement model.

A total of 12,365 patients undergoing THA from 2016 to 2018 were retrospectively reviewed to determine dislocation rates and utilization of standard- versus high-offset stems. For 50 consecutive patients with spinal stiffness, a CT-based computer software impingement modeling system assessed bony or prosthetic impingement during simulated range of motion. The model was run 5 times for each patient with varying offsets. Range of motion was simulated in each scenario to determine the degree at which impingement occurred.

There were 51 dislocations for a 0.41% dislocation rate. Total utilization of high-offset stems in the entire cohort was 49%. Of those patients who sustained a dislocation, 49 (96%) utilized a standard-offset stem. The impingement modeling demonstrated 5 degrees of added range of motion until impingement for every 1 mm offset increase.

In the impingement model, high-offset stems facilitated greater ROM before bony impingement and resulted in lower dislocation rates. In the setting of high-risk THA due to spinal stiffness, surgeons should consider the use of high-offset stems and pay attention to offset restoration.