Consultant revision hip arthroplasty volumes and new consultant volume trajectories in England, Wales, Northern Ireland, and the Isle of Man A STUDY USING THE NATIONAL JOINT REGISTRY DATASET

AimsThis study describes the variation in the annual volumes of revision hip arthroplasty (RHA) undertaken by consultant surgeons nationally, and the rate of accrual of RHA and corresponding primary hip arthroplasty (PHA) volume for new consultants entering practice. MethodsNational Joint Registry (NJR) data for England, Wales, Northern Ireland, and the Isle of Man were received for 84,816 RHAs and 818,979 PHAs recorded between April 2011 and December 2019. RHA data comprised all revision procedures, including first time revisions of PHA and any subsequent re-revisions recorded in public and private healthcare organizations. Annual procedure volumes undertaken by the responsible consultant surgeon in the 12 months prior to every index procedure were determined. We identified a cohort of 'new' HA consultants who commenced practice from 2012 and describe their rate of accrual of PHA and RHA experience. ResultsThe median annual consultant RHA volume, averaged across all cases, was 21 (inter quartile range (IQR) 11 to 34; range 0 to 181). Of 1,695 consultants submitting RHA cases within the study period, the top 20% of surgeons by annual volume performed 74.2% of total RHA case volume. More than half of all consultants who had ever undertaken a RHA maintained an annual volume of just one or fewer RHA, however, collectively contributed less than 3% of the total RHA case volume. Consultant PHA and RHA volumes were positively correlated. Lower-volume surgeons were more likely to undertake RHA for urgent indications (such as infection) as a proportion of their practice, and to do so on weekends and public holidays.ConclusionThe majority of RHAs were undertaken by higher-volume surgeons. There was considerable variation in RHA volumes by indication, day of the week, and between consultants nationally. The rate of accrual of RHA experience by new consultants is low, and has important implications for establishing an experienced RHA consultant workforce.

Automated summary

This study examines the annual volume variation of revision hip arthroplasty (RHA) performed by consultant surgeons nationally and the rate at which new consultants accrue RHA experience. The majority of RHAs are performed by higher-volume surgeons, and there is a significant variation in RHA volumes by indication, day of the week, and between consultants nationally. The low rate of RHA experience accrual by new consultants has important implications for establishing an experienced RHA consultant workforce.