Alberta Research Team’s Review and Synthesis of the Literature on Hip Resurfacing Safety Among the Most Comprehensive Ever Conducted
Findings will help inform decisions when choosing prosthesis type
An Alberta research team’s review and synthesis of the literature on the safety of hip resurfacing will be among the most comprehensive ever conducted when the work concludes in late 2011. It is the first comprehensive review to include adverse events and revision rates by prosthesis type and placement and by patient subgroup.
The researchers have reviewed over 7,400 titles and abstracts and extracted data from more than 200 studies that will be analyzed in detail. They expect to issue a report by the end of 2011, providing clinicians and health care policy makers with valuable findings on adverse events, early revision and reoperation rates, and reported functional outcomes. Patient subgroup findings will be on the basis of age, gender and preoperative diagnosis, among other fields.
The research team is from Alberta Bone and Joint Health Institute and the University of Calgary’s Faculty of Medicine. The work is funded through a Canadian Institutes of Health Research and Canadian Arthritis Network Knowledge Translation and Exchange grant.
A comprehensive review and synthesis of the knowledge about hip resurfacing safety that includes adverse events and analyzes differential revision rates will inform decisions about hip replacement based on performance outcomes measured over the long term.
Hip Resurfacing a Bone-conserving Option
Hip resurfacing was developed as a bone-conserving alternative to total hip arthroplasty (THA) for young, active people with end-stage osteoarthritis. It has grown quickly in popularity since the mid-1990s. The head of the femur and the surface of the acetabulum, or hip socket, are reshaped to accept a new prosthesis, which is most commonly made of cobalt and chromium. In THA, the head and a portion of the femur neck are removed and a stem is placed in the canal of the femur.
The growing popularity of hip resurfacing has been accompanied by reports of increased risk of adverse events leading to early device failure and revision and reoperation, compared with THA.
Primary Research Questions
- What is the observed rate of adverse events and complications for hip resurfacing in hip OA patients compared to conventional THA?
- What are the rates of early failure (revision or reoperation within 5 years) due to adverse events and complications for hip resurfacing compared to conventional THA?
- What are the rates of reporting post-operative component alignment (quantitative or qualitative) in resurfacing devices and what proportion of the components is considered misaligned?
Investigators
- Dr. Deborah Marshal, Principal Investigator
- Dr. Cy Frank
- Dr. Tom Noseworthy
- Dr. Diane Lorenzetti
Knowledge Users
- Dr. Greg O’Connor, Orthopaedic Surgeon, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
- Tracy Wasylak, Vice-President, Alberta Health Services, Calgary, Alberta, Canada; Co-chair, Alberta Bone and Joint Clinical Network
- Dr. Jason Werle, Orthopaedic Surgeon, Calgary, Alberta, Canada; Head, Section of Arthroplasty, Division of Orthopaedics, Department of Surgery, University of Calgary and Alberta Health Services – Calgary Zone
- Dr. Don Dick, Orthopaedic Surgeon, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada; Co-chair, Alberta Bone and Joint Clinical Network
Poster presented by Dr. Cy Frank at the Canadian Orthopaedic Association's annual meeting, July 7-9, 2011
