Purpose. The aim was to assess the cost-effectiveness of robotic arm-assisted total hip arthroplasty (rTHA) compared with manual total hip arthroplasty (mTHA) and to assess the influence of annual volume on the relative cost-effectiveness of rTHA. Methods. A database of both rTHA (n = 48 performed in a private centre) and mTHA (n = 512 performed in the National Health Service) was used. Patient demographics, preoperative Oxford hip score, forgotten joint score, EuroQol 5-dimensional 3-level (EQ-5D), and postoperative EQ-5D were recorded. Two models for incremental cost-effectiveness ratios using cost per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) for rTHA were calculated based on a unit performing 100 rTHAs per year: 10-year follow-up and a lifetime time horizon (remaining life expectancy of a 69-year-old patient). Results. When adjusting for confounding factors, rTHA was independently associated with a 0.091 ( ) greater improvement in the EQ-5D compared to mTHA. This resulted in a 10-year time horizon cost per QALY for rTHA of £1,910 relative to mTHA, which increased to £2,349 per QALY when discounted (5%/year). When using the 10-year time horizon cost per QALY was approximately £3,000 for a centre undertaking 50 rTHAs per year and decreased to £1,000 for centre undertaking 200 rTHAs per year. Using a lifetime horizon, the incremental unadjusted cost per QALY gained was £980 and £1432 when discounted (5%/year) for rTHA compared with mTHA. Conclusions. Despite the increased cost associated with rTHA, it was a cost-effective intervention relative to mTHA due to the associated greater health-related quality of health gain, according to the EQ-5D outcome measure.

Case: A 52-year-old man underwent right total hip replacement with a 32-mm BIOLOX delta ceramic head with a polyethylene liner. At 8 months, he fell onto his right hip. Radiographs at the time were unremarkable. One month later, he noticed a sharp pain and a sensation of grinding in his right hip; radiographs of the hip showed a fracture of the ceramic head. Conclusions: This case further demonstrates that fourth-generation ceramic heads can fracture, and delays in catastrophic failure of ceramics in total hip arthroplasty (THA) following trauma may be secondary to the “slow crack growth” hypothesis.

Aims: The aims were to compare the survival of the cemented standard (150 mm) with the short (DDH [35.5 mm offset or less], number 1 short stem [125 mm options of 37.5 mm, 44 mm, 50 mm offset] and revision [44/00/125]) Exeter^® V40 femoral stems when used for primary total hip arthroplasty (THA). Methods: Patients were retrospectively identified from an arthroplasty database. A total of 664 short stem Exeter^® variants were identified, of which 229 were DDH stems, 208 number 1 stems and 227 revision stems were implanted between 2011 and 2020. A control group of 698 standard Exeter^® stems used for THA was set up, and were followed up for a minimum of 10 years follow-up (implanted 2011). All-cause survival was assessed for THA and for the stem only. Adjusted analysis was undertaken for age, sex and ASA grade. Results: The median survival time for the short stems varied according to design: DDH had a survival time of 6.7 years, number 1 stems 4.1 years, and revision stems 7.2 years. Subjects in the short stem group (n = 664) were significantly younger (mean difference 5.1, P < 0.001) and were more likely to be female (odds ratio 1.89, 95% CI 1.50 to 2.39, P < 0.001), compared to the standard group. There were no differences in THA (P = 0.26) or stem (P = 0.35) survival at 5 years (adjusted THA: 98.3% vs. 97.2%; stem 98.7% vs. 97.8%) or 10 years (adjusted THA 97.0% vs. 96.0 %; stem 96.7% vs. 96.2%) between standard and short stem groups, respectively. At 5 years no differences were found in THA (DDH: 96.7%, number 1 97.5%, revision 97.3%, standard 98.6%) or stem (DDH: 97.6%, number 1 99.0%, revision 97.3%, standard 98.2%) survival between/among the different short stems or when compared to the standard group. Conclusion: The Exeter^® short stems offer equivocal survival when compared to the standard stem at 5- to 10-year follow-up, which does not seem to be influenced by the short stem design.

Background/Objectives: As the rate of revision total hip arthroplasty (THA) has risen, there has been a drive to improve the technology in the manufacturing of the implants used. One recent advance has been 3-D printing of trabecular titanium implants to improve implant stability and osteointegration. The aim of this study was to review the clinical and radiological outcomes of these acetabular implants in revision THA. Methods: A manual search of the databases of the US National Library of medicine (PubMed/MEDLINE), Embase, and the Cochrane library was performed. The following keywords of “revision total hip arthroplasty” AND “acetabulum” AND “titanium” AND “porous” were utilised. Results: In total, 106 abstracts were identified during manual search of databases. In total, 11 studies reporting 4 different implants, with a total of 597 operated joints in 585 patients were included in this review. There were 349 (59.7%) female patients, and the mean age per study ranged from 56.0 to 78.4 years. The all-cause survival rate was 95.52% (95% CI: 92.37–97.96) at a mean follow up of 3.8 years (95% CI: 2.6–5.1). The 40 cases that required re-operation included 17 (2.8%) for infection, 14 (2.3%) instability, 2 (0.3%) for shell migration and 5 (0.8%) for aseptic loosening. The most commonly used patient reported outcome measure was the Harris Hip Score with the mean post-operative score of 86.7 (95% CI: 84.3–89.1). Conclusions: Trabecular titanium acetabular implants, when used in revision THA, resulted in excellent short- to mid-term outcomes with improved hip specific outcomes and a survivorship of 95.52% over the reported follow-up period. Future prospective studies evaluating long term outcomes are needed to make comparisons between more established solutions used in revision THA.

The use of shorter length femoral stems during total hip arthroplasty has been suggested to accommodate wider patient femoral geometry and offer maximal bone preservation. However, cemented short-stem designs may increase the risk of varus stem malalignment and influence patient outcomes. CASINO is a multi-centre randomised equivalence trial that will recruit 220 patients undergoing total hip arthroplasty for osteoarthritis at two NHS hospitals in Scotland. Patients will be aged 45–80, undergoing unilateral primary hip arthroplasty, with no plan for contralateral procedure within the study timeframe, and able to comply with the protocol. Participants will be randomised to receive either a short (125 mm) or a standard (150 mm) Exeter V40 stem. The Contemporary acetabular component will be used in all cases. All implants will be cemented. Patient pain, function and satisfaction will be assessed using change from baseline measurement in Oxford Hip Score, Forgotten Joint Score, EQ-5D, pain numerical rating scores, and patient satisfaction questionnaire at baseline and at 1 and 2 years following surgery. Radiographic assessment will evaluate stem position and will be appraised by independent reviewers. Patients will be blind to implant allocation. Stem length may be associated with outcome; however, we can find no randomised trial in which researchers investigated the effect of stem length on patient outcome following cemented total hip arthroplasty. The aim of this trial is to determine if the use of short cemented stems offers equivalent patient outcomes to those achieved following surgery with standard length stems. International Standard Randomised Controlled Trial Number, ISRCTN13154542 , Registered on 30 June 2017.