The preoperative measurement of template and postoperative assessment in artificial total hip replacement

Objective: To study the accuracy and importance of preoperative template measurement in total hip replacement (THR). Methods: Between Oct. 2003 and Sep. 2004, 19 patients (19 hips), including 11 male and 8 female, ranged from 40 to 74 years old (mean 58.7 years old), underwent unilateral primary total hip replacement.Limb length and offset was measured, radiographic template was done preoperatively to anticipate optimal implantation component position and determine level of expected femoral neck cut, and plan to restore equality of limbs.After surgery, all factors above were reevaluated. Results: Fifteen patients with limb length difference obtained a significant improvement, it is decreased from 8.4mm to 4.4mm, 73.7% of them the limb length discrepancies was controlled within 5mm. Bilateral offset difference decreased from 6.3mm to 3.0mm. Coincidence rate between planned and actually used components was 52.6% on the acetabular side and 63.2% on the femoral side. Conclusion: Accurate and careful preoperative template measurement has significant value in balanced hip reconstruction by correcting leg length differences and restoring offset.