Abstract
Introduction
Background: Trochanteric bursitis is a common and poorly understood complication following total hip arthroplasty (THA). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the incidence of symptomatic trochanteric bursitis and the change in hip offset among THA patients before and after the introduction of robotic assistance.
Methods
Retrospective chart review of THAs performed by a single over a 3-year period between 1/5/2013 and 6/28/2016. Between 1/5/2013 and 11/11/2014 101 consecutive patients were identified that underwent manual posterior-lateral THA that utilized traditional cup positioning method based on AP Pelvis radiograph. The subsequent six-month period during a complete transition to robotic arm assistance for posterior-lateral THA was excluded to eliminate any learning curve or selection bias. Between 6/2015 and 6/2016 109 consecutive patients that underwent robotic arm-assisted. Medical records were reviewed for symptomatic trochanteric bursitis within two years of surgery. Hip offset was measured on preoperative and postoperative AP pelvis radiographs and postoperative joint reactive forces were calculated using Martell's Hip Analysis Suite.
Results
The rate of symptomatic trochanteric bursitis was 21% in the manual THA population and 10.4% in the population of THAs performed with robotic assistance (P=0.02). The post-operative change in hip offset was significantly higher in patients undergoing traditional THA than patients undergoing robotic arm-assisted THA (5.95 mm vs 4.40 mm; p = 0.0071).
Discussion/Conclusion
Transition to robotic arm-assisted THA was associated with decreased incidence of symptomatic trochanteric bursitis and a decreased post-operative change in hip offset.
