Revision joint replacement
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pre op xray showing loose implant and periprosthetic femur fracture
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post op xray with cemented long femur stem and cables, uncemented acetabular cup
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Presented here is a case of 65 yr
old woman who had underwent cemented total hip replacement of left hip 5 yrs
back. She was apparently well for 5 yrs, walking comfortable full weight
bearing. There had been no wound healing problems in postoperative period.
However, after 5 yrs, she started complaining of slight discomfort in left hip
region. There was pain particularly localized to anterior thigh on walking. She
could appreciate some clicking inside the hip also. X rays were done. The
implant was found lose. There was global lysis at cement bone interface in
femur stem with stem subsiding into varus. There was lysis at cement bone
interface on acetabular side with cup rotation. With this picture, she was
advised revision hip replacement at the earliest. In the meantime, patient had
a fall wherein she had periprosthetic fracture of femur with bad comminution.
She was taken to operation theatre and revision surgery was performed. The same
incision as previous surgery was used. The first step was identification and
preservation of sciatic nerve. Implant removal was not difficult as it was
already loose. Any signs of infection were confirmed to be absent. The
remaining cement mantle was removed using long currettes and osteotomes. The
acetabulum was deep with very thin medial wall. All debris were removed and
acetabulum reamed very carefully. Uncemented cup stryker was used and had a
very stable fit. Screws were inserted for additional stability. The femur canal
was prepared for a longer stem. The fracture was badly comminuted with loss of
bone. All the fragments were brought togather and held using cables. A long
stem cemented prosthesis was inserted and hip was stable upon reduction. The
patient had uneventful postop period. Anticoagulation was given as mobilization
was delayed. This patient was allowed toe touch weight bearing at 6 weeks only.
Full weight bearing was allowed at 3 months when all fractures were seemingly
uniting and good bone could be seen under acetabular shell. At 3 yr followup,
this patient is walking without walker and is able to climb upto her house on
first floor.