Causes of Revision in Young Patients Undergoing Total Hip Arthroplasty

The purpose of this study was to identify reasons for revision of total hip arthroplasty (THA) in patients who underwent primary THA at or before the age of 35 years. We hypothesized that the reasons for revision in younger patients would be different from the general older population of patients undergoing THA because of the differences in diagnoses, complexity of deformities, and differences in activity level.

Data for 108 hips in 82 patients who underwent primary THA at our institution before the age of 35 years from 1982-2007 and subsequently underwent revision THA were reviewed. Operative reports and clinic notes were reviewed to determine baseline characteristics, reason for revision, timing of revision, and components revised.

The mean age at index surgery was 25.4 years, and mean time from index to revision surgery was 10.1 years. The most common preoperative diagnoses included avascular necrosis, juvenile idiopathic arthritis, developmental dysplasia of the hip, and posttraumatic arthritis. The most common reasons for revision were acetabular loosening (30.1%), femoral loosening (23.7%), and polyethylene wear (24.7%). 8.3% of patients underwent primary THA with highly cross-linked polyethylene, while the remainder of the patients underwent THA when conventional polyethylene was used. There was no statistically significant association between which component(s) were revised and initial fixation (ie cemented or uncemented prosthesis) ( P = .26).

Causes of revision in this population appear to differ from the general THA population. In young patients, acetabular loosening, femur loosening, and polyethylene wear were the most common causes of revision. Instability and infection were less common compared with literature reports of causes of revision in older patients. Findings in this study may be useful in counseling young patients undergoing THA, though results were likely influenced by the use of conventional rather than highly cross-linked polyethylene in this cohort.