Medium-term outcomes of total hip arthroplasty in juvenile patients

Background

Juvenile hip osteoarthritis is often the end result of congenital conditions or acquired hip ailments occurred during the paediatric age. This study evaluated the middle term results of total hip arthroplasty for end-stage juvenile hip osteoarthritis.

Materials and methods

This is a retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data on a cohort of 10 consecutive patients (12 hips), aged between 14 and 20 at operation, who underwent cementless total hip arthroplasty for end-stage juvenile secondary hip osteoarthritis in two orthopaedic tertiary referral centres between 2009 and 2018.

Results

Juvenile hip osteoarthritis occurred as a consequence of developmental dysplasia of the hip, Legg-Calvé-Perthes disease, femoral head necrosis or slipped capital femoral epiphysis. All patients showed a significant improvement in Harris Hip Score (p < 0.01) at 3.3 years average follow-up (range 0.7–10.1 years).

Conclusion

The management of juvenile hip osteoarthritis following developmental dysplasia of the hip, Legg-Calvé-Perthes disease, femoral head necrosis or slipped capital femoral epiphysis is still challenging. Careful preoperative planning is essential to achieve good outcomes and improve the Harris Hip Score in these young patients. Total hip arthroplasty is a suitable option for end-stage secondary juvenile hip osteoarthritis, when proximal femoral osteotomies and conservative treatments fail to improve patients’ symptoms and quality of life.

Level of evidence

IV