A new method for the measurement of anteversion of the acetabular cup after total hip arthroplasty

Objective

Many methods of determining the anteversion of the acetabular cup have been described in the literature. The advantages and disadvantages of each of these methods are discussed in this paper. We present a new method of measuring the acetabular anteversion at the anteroposterior hip.

Materials and methods

The formula designed by the authors was anteversion angle (α) = arc sin |PK|/√ |AK| ×  |BK|. The formula was tested using the AutoCAD software, and an experimental study was conducted to evaluate the accuracy. Three groups were created, and 16 X-ray images were taken and coded. Ten orthopaedic surgeons measured the acetabular anteversion from these X-rays using our formula.

Results

The results in Group 1 were closer to the actual value; in contrast, the results in Group 2 differed from the actual values. The results in Group 3 were as close to the actual anteversion values as were those in Group 1.

Conclusion

Developments in technology often bring an increase in complications. Despite newly developed surgical methods and technology, the position of the acetabular cup is still used to determine the results of a total hip arthroplasty. Our method is simple, cost-effective and achieves almost 100 % accuracy.