Dual Mobility THA Design Lessens Dislocation Risk

Ryortho—March 23, 2015

With 485 primary hips and NO dislocations...Geoffrey H. Westrich, MD, Professor of Clinical Orthopaedic Surgery and Director of Research for the Adult Reconstruction and Joint Replacement Service at Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS), was principal investigator on a study that is turning heads.

He tells OTW, "Although total hip replacement is one of the most life changing operations performed by orthopedic surgeons, there are occasionally serious complications such as dislocation."

There are designs that reduce or eliminate dislocation; this dual mobility design was originally popularized in France by Guy Bousquet, who combined two types of arthroplasties and came up with dual mobility design concept.

Now companies have created modern, state of the art dual mobility hip designs. The most common design used in the U.S. is manufactured by Stryker. The engineers took all of the positive elements of the Bousquet design and combined them with modern American technology (cup fixation) and the latest, third generation polyethylene.

"I have eliminated dislocations in my patients by using these cups. I have asked other surgeons around the U.S. who are using this prosthesis, and they are saying the same thing. Our study included five institutions and 485 primary hips in 452 patients. We had a two year minimum follow-up; after two years none of the 485 hips had dislocated. And in all previous studies done looking at dislocation, 70% of dislocations occur within the first year."

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