Leg Length Balance in Total Hip Arthroplasty for Patients with Unilateral Crowe Type IV Developmental Dysplasia of the Hip

Objective To explore the leg length balance in total hip arthroplasty (THA) with shortening subtrochanteric osteotomy (SSTO) or not for unilateral Crowe type IV developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) through the evaluation of postoperative full-length anteroposterior radiographs. Methods The postoperative radiographs of 60 patients with unilateral Crowe type IV DDH from July 2012 to May 2019 were retrospectively reviewed. All patients underwent THA using the Pinnacle Acetabular Cup system, a ceramic liner and femoral head, and the S-ROM stem with a proximal sleeve or cone. Patients with leg length discrepancy (LLD) < 10 mm were defined as the non-LLD group. To identify differences associated with SSTO, the group was further divided into two groups based on whether the patient underwent SSTO. A total of 48 patients (26 for SSTO and 22 for non-SSTO) were in the non-LLD group. There were 3 male and 45 female patients. The mean age of the patients in the non-LLD group was 39 years. These data, including leg length, femoral length, the height of center of rotation (COR) of the hip, the depth of the sleeve or cone in the femoral medullary canal and the height of the greater trochanter, were measured. Results In the non-LLD group, the femoral lengths in both SSTO and non-SSTO groups were significantly shorter on the operated side compared with the contralateral side, and the mean discrepancy in the SSTO group was approximately equal to the mean length of the SSTO. The mean height of the COR of the hip on the operated sides in both SSTO and non-SSTO groups was 13.2 mm, and the contralateral sides were 15.2 and 15.5 mm, respectively. The depth of the sleeve or cone in the femoral medullary canal between SSTO and non-SSTO groups was 21.7 and 30.6 mm, respectively. The depth of the sleeve or cone in the SSTO group was negatively correlated with the length of SSTO. The heights of the greater trochanter in the operated and contralateral sides were 5.3 and 16.6 mm in the SSTO group, and 13.2 and 17.2 mm in the non-SSTO group, respectively. Conclusions Shortening subtrochanteric osteotomy led to femoral shortening on the operated side for patients with unilateral Crowe type IV DDH. The position of the sleeve or cone should be close to the apex of the greater trochanter to compensate the length of the SSTO. The position of the sleeve or cone without SSTO should be adjusted to make sure that the height of the greater trochanter on the operated side is close to that on the contralateral side.