Younger, Taller More Likely To Require Hip Revision

This study published in the December issue of Arthritis Care & Research is the first to look at the risk factors that could lead to a revision after a primary total hip replacement (THR).

In the U.S. population, identified by Medicare claims from 29 states, patients who were younger, taller and heavier as well as those receiving a cemented femoral component were the most likely to need a revision surgery over a 12-year period of time.

The researchers looked at total hip replacements that occurred between July 1, 1995 and June 30, 1996 with follow-up care continuing through the end of 2008.

In this study, a younger senior is defined as anyone under age 75. Other factors include a prior contralateral primary THR or other orthopedic surgeries.

The study concludes that the size and age of the recipient should be considered by doctors in considering the primary total hip replacement.

Its findings closely resemble a report published last October that finds for seniors between the ages of 65 to 75, the revision rate for a hip implant was 47 percent higher than for those patients over the age of 75. In the study from Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, men were 23 percent more likely to need a second procedure than women.

With close to 500,000 hip replacement surgeries perform in the U.S. every year this is important information for both doctors and patients to understand especially since of that number, about 58,000 are revision surgeries.

Increasingly we are finding that metal-on-metal hip implant injuries include metallosis or metal toxicity has contributed to premature revision rates that fall far short than the expected 15-year life span of any hip prosthesis.

For example, the Johnson & Johnson DePuy ASR was recalled in August 2010 after a 12 percent revision rate, the highest in the industry.