Morphology of the dysplastic hip and the relationship with sex and acetabular version

The dysplastic hip is characterized by incomplete coverage of the femoral head, resulting in increased risk of early osteoarthritis. The morphological variation of the hip joint is diverse and clear differences exist between females and males. The aim of this observational study was therefore to investigate the relationship between the morphology of the hip, sex, and hip dysplasia using a three-dimensional model. Statistical shape models of the combined femur and pelvic bones were created from bilateral hips of 75 patients. Using manual angle measurements and regression analysis, the characteristic shape differences associated with sex and hip dysplasia were determined. The model showed clear differences associated with sex and hip dysplasia. We found that the acetabular anteversion in females was significantly higher (p < 0.0001) than in males while no significant difference in acetabular anteversion was found between normal and dysplastic hips (p = 0.11). The model showed that decreased acetabular anteversion resulted in the appearance of the cross-over sign and the prominent ischial spine sign commonly associated with retroversion. Sex could be predicted with an area under the curve of 0.99 and hip dysplasia could be predicted with an area under the curve of ≥0.73. Our findings suggest that retroversion is a result of decreased anteversion of the acetabulum and is primarily associated with sex. This finding should be taken into account during the reorientation of the acetabulum in the surgical treatment of hip dysplasia.