Femoral-head vascularity after hip surface arthroplasty.
BACKGROUND
iatrogenic devascularization of the femoral head is as an area of concern following hip resurfacing arthroplasty, with probable implications on short-term failure and long-term survival of the implant.


METHODS
we assessed the vascularity of 25 resurfaced femoral heads in 20 patients by comparison with preoperative and postoperative Tc-99m methylene diphosphonate (MDP) bone scintigraphy images, the postoperative scans being done 9 months after the surgery.


RESULTS
eight out of 25 hips (32%) showed <55% of their preoperative uptake at a mean of 9 months after surgery and were categorized as showing reduced vascularity.


CONCLUSIONS
our study reveals reduction in vascularity of the femoral-head remnant as a frequent occurrence after hip resurfacing. Our study also highlights the role of bone scintigraphy as tool in assessing the vascularity of resurfaced femoral heads.
Department of Orthopaedics, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Ansari Nagar, New Delhi, India. arunkannan.arun@gmail.com
Arun
A
Kannan
Chandra Sekhar
CS
Bal
Vijay
V
Kumar
Ravi
R
Mittal
Nishikant
N
Damle
Rajesh
R
Malhotra
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D019644:Arthroplasty, Replacement, Hip; D005260:Female; D005270:Femur Head / Q000098:blood supply* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006622:Hip Prosthesis; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011877:Radionuclide Imaging