The aim of this study was to analyze the effect of a lateral rim mesh on the survival of primary total hip arthroplasty (THA) in young patients, aged 50 years or younger.
We compared a study group of 235 patients (257 hips) who received a primary THA with the use of impaction bone grafting (IBG) with an additional lateral rim mesh with a group of 306 patients (343 hips) who received IBG in the absence of a lateral rim mesh during the same period from 1988 to 2015. In the mesh group, there were 74 male and 183 female patients, with a mean age of 35 years (13 to 50). In the no-mesh group, there were 173 male and 170 female patients, with a mean age of 38 years (12.6 to 50). Cox regression analyses were performed to study the effect of a lateral rim mesh on acetabular component survival. Kaplan-Meier analyses with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were performed to estimate the survival of the acetabular implant.
The hazard ratio for the use of lateral rim mesh, adjusted for potential confounders, for acetabular revision for any reason was 0.50 (95% CI 0.13 to 1.93; p = 0.31) and for acetabular revision for aseptic loosening was 0.29 (95% CI 0.020 to 4.04; p = 0.35). The Kaplan-Meier analysis showed a ten-year survival for aseptic loosening of the acetabular of 98% (95% CI 95 to 100, n = 65 at risk) in the mesh group and 94% (89 to 98, n = 76 at risk) in the no-mesh group. The 15-year survival for aseptic acetabular loosening was 90% (81 to 100, n = 35 at risk) in the mesh group and 85% (77 to 94, n = 45 at risk) in the no-mesh group (p = 0.23).
This study shows that the use of a lateral rim mesh in primary THA in young patients is not associated with a higher risk of revision of the acetabular component. Therefore, we consider a lateral rim mesh combined with IBG to be effective in reconstructing segmental acetabular defects in primary THA.