Study Finds Little Difference Between Anterior and Posterior Approaches for Hip Replacment Surgery
For Immediate Release
Dallas, November 7, 2015 — The study, “Direct Anterior Approach Does Not Reduce Dislocation Risk,” presented at the 25th Annual Meeting of the American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons (AAHKS) on November 7, 2015 looked at two approaches surgeons use to access the hip joint during total hip replacement surgery. Recently, some have suggested that the direct anterior approach – where the surgeon accesses the joint from the front of the hip – has advantages over the posterior approach – where the surgeon access the joint from the back of the hip.
Joseph D. Maratt, MD and co-authors Joel J. Gagnier, PhD, Paul Butler, MD, Brian R. Hallstrom, MD, Andrew G. Urquhart, MD, Karl C. Roberts, MD used data from the Michigan Arthroplasty Registry Collaborative Quality Initiative to compare the short-term outcomes and complications of 2,147 matched pairs of patients following total hip replacement surgery.
“There was no statistically significant difference in dislocation risk, fracture rate, blood loss, hematoma formation, length of hospital stay (LOS) or readmission,” stated Dr. Maratt in his presentation “although average operative time was 24 minutes longer for the patients operated on by the anterior approach”. The study concluded that based on the data, the two approaches “have no compelling advantage over each other.”
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About the American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons:
Established in 1991, the mission of AAHKS is to advance hip and knee patient care through education and advocacy. AAHKS has a membership of over 3,700 surgeons. For more information, visit www.AAHKS.org.
Contact:
Denise Smith Rodd
drodd@aahks.org
