Complications associated with
reimplantation of a
total hip arthroplasty after resection or Girdlestone
arthroplasty for treatment of an infected hip are not well-documented. Forty-four hips in 44 patients with a minimum 2-year followup (range, 2-9 years) from the time of
reimplantation total hip arthroplasty were evaluated retrospectively. The average Harris hip score changed from 40 preoperatively to 78 at the latest followup. One patient had
persistent infection requiring rerevision surgery, and another patient had rerevision surgery for recurrent dislocation. Complications related to the
prosthesis consisted of dislocations in five patients (11.4%),
recurrent infection in one patient (2.3%), trochanteric nonunion in four patients (9.1%),
hematoma in one patient,
heterotopic ossification in one patient, and postoperative
wound drainage in one patient. Resection
arthroplasty of the hip is highly effective in eradicating
infection. In the current series, 97.7% of patients were free of
infection at the latest followup. However, with an 11.4% dislocation rate and 39% of patients having a persistent limp, alternative approaches need to be evaluated which might reduce these complications.