Salvage Total Hip Replacement for Failed Proximal Femoral Fracture Fixation

Salvage arthroplasty for failed proximal femoral fracture fixation is a complex procedure. This involves the removal of the primary failed or broken implant followed by a hip joint replacement procedure. The complications and technical difficulties associated with these surgeries are often difficult to anticipate.

Initially, to further understand the position in the literature with regard to salvage arthroplasty, we completed an informative scoping review. Search terms were selected, and databases Embase and PubMed were utilised to form a literature search. Relevant articles were selected by two independent researchers, with a final list of nine studies reviewed and tabulated for themes to be identified and analysed. Subsequently, we retrospectively studied the notes of all the patients who underwent complex conversion arthroplasty in the same district hospitals in a span of 16 years (August 2002 to August 2018) and presented the results.

Seventy-one patients underwent complex salvage arthroplasty following a failed fixation of proximal femoral fracture under the care of three different surgeons. All surgeries were carried out by the posterior approach. The demographics, intraoperative events, and postoperative follow-up have been presented through clinical and radiological assessments. With a mean age being 73.6, female patients were almost twice the number of male patients. The left hip was the more common surgical site. Implant cutout was the most common cause of failure of the primary implant. Most of these surgeries were either uncemented (31 cases, 43.66%) or hybrid (29 cases, 40.84%). The most common acetabular size to be used was 50 mm, and the most common head size used was 32 mm. A majority of the surgeries were metal on poly bearings (64 cases, 90.14%). The mean surgical time, including anesthetic, was four hours and 13 minutes. A total of 31 (44%) patients needed blood transfusion postoperatively. The infection rate was 21.13% (15 cases), being the most common surgical complication. The mean follow-up of the patients was 27.2 months with the maximum follow-up being 125 months. The one-year mortality was found to be 14% (10 cases). The mean limb length discrepancy was shortening by an average of 3.84 mm. A total of 66.2% (47 cases) of patients were shortened postoperatively. The average cup abduction and anteversion angles were 35° and 24.25°, respectively. The average position of the femoral stem was 0.31° in the varus with 40.85% (29 cases) of patients having a slightly varus stem.

Upon drawing comparisons with primary hip arthroplasty for primary osteoarthritis through data available in the literature, it is obvious that salvage arthroplasty is a complex procedure with longer surgical times and onerous rehabilitation. Whilst it is not the same as revision arthroplasty, many of the characteristics in terms of surgical planning and outcomes are similar. Therefore, it is our recommendation that salvage hip arthroplasty procedures should be categorised, listed, and studied separately from primary arthroplasty in the National Joint Registry database.