Original Research
Influence of Surgical Experience on Accuracy of Acetabular Cup Positioning in Total Hip Arthroplasty
Am J Orthop. 2008 July;37(7):360-363
Author and Disclosure Information
Patrik Reize, MD, Emanuel V. Geiger, MD, Andreas Suckel, MD, Maximilian Rudert, MD, and Nikolaus Wülker, MD
Dr. Reize is Medical Director, Clinic for Orthopaedics and Trauma Surgery, Klinikum Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany.
Dr. Geiger is Resident, Trauma Department, University of Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
Dr. Suckel is Staff Surgeon, Orthopaedic Department, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
Dr. Rudert is Staff Surgeon, Orthopaedic Department, University of München, München, Germany.
Dr. Wülker is Medical Director, Orthopaedic Department, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
Acetabular cup positioning with respect to inclination and anteversion is important in total hip arthroplasty. Positioning affects wear, range of motion, dislocation, and aseptic loosening and is essential for the prognosis after surgery. In this study, we sought to determine the accuracy of surgeons’ cup positioning and to test for any differences in accuracy among surgeons with different levels of surgical experience. Using a lateral transgluteal approach, 2 groups of surgeons with different levels of surgical experience positioned 85 cups. Fifty-nine percent of the cups were outside the safe zone of Lewinnek. There was no significant difference between the 2 groups.