The technique of medialization has been used to reconstruct acetabula at the level of true acetabula in total hip arthroplasty (THA) in patients with developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH). Appreciation of the bone stock in the medial acetabular wall is significant for making an optimal acetabular reconstruction plan and avoiding complications.
To evaluate the bone stock of the medial acetabular wall and its relation to the degree of subluxation in patients with DDH using computed tomography (CT).
Helical CT scans of 27 hips were obtained from 21 patients with osteoarthritis secondary to DDH who were scheduled for total hip arthroplasty. Eleven hips belonged to Crowe class I, while 16 hips belonged to Crowe class II/III. The raw CT data were reprocessed in various planes by scrolling multiplanar reformation (MPR). Acetabular opening, depth, and medial bone stock, as indicated by the minimum thickness of the medial acetabular wall, were measured in the transverse reformed MPR plane.
The minimum thicknesses of the medial acetabular wall in Crowe-I and Crowe-II/III hips were 3.8+/-2.1 mm and 7.1+/-3.1 mm, respectively, with statistically significant differences between the groups (P<0.05). Furthermore, the bone stock in the medial acetabular wall correlated with the degree of subluxation (R=0.69) and the acetabular depth (R= ;- ;0.71).
There was significantly more bone stock in the medial acetabular wall in patients with higher-degree subluxation than there was in the less-severe class. This difference should be taken into consideration when reconstructing acetabula in THA in patients with DDH using the technique of medialization.