Risk Factors and Outcomes Associated with Intraoperative Fractures during Short-Stem Total Hip Arthroplasty for Osteonecrosis of the Femoral Head

Background: Young age in osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH) demands bone-preserving, short-stem arthroplasty. Several designs including neck-preserving stems and neck-resecting, shortened, standard stems are classified as short stems. There is a paucity of literature investigating risk factors and outcomes of intraoperative complications of neck preserving, short-stem arthroplasty in ONFH. Methods: A total of 107 hips operated with METHA short-stem arthroplasty for ONFH were retrospectively evaluated. The mean age of patients was 43.7 years (range, 27-60 years). Nine patients had an intraoperative fracture. Seven hips received prophylactic cerclage wiring for poor bone quality. Patients were invited for clinical and radiological evaluation at the latest follow-up. Results: The mean follow-up of patients was 47.2 months. Significant association with intraoperative fractures and the need for prophylactic cerclage wiring were found in steroids-, alcohol-, and chronic renal failure-induced ONFH. However, patient sex, body mass index, traumatic/idiopathic ONFH, previous implant in situ, prosthesis size, and single-sitting bilateral total hip replacement (THA) were not the risk factors. All hips showed signs of osteointegration at final follow-up. No revision was done during the study period for any cause. Conclusions: METHA short-stem THA offers excellent functional and radiological outcomes in ONFH. However, precaution must be exercised in patients with steroids-, alcohol-, and renal disorders-induced ONFN due to poor bone quality and higher chances of intraoperative fractures. Also, additional measures such as the use of a high-speed burr and prophylactic cerclage wiring in ONFH may allow predictable and safe use of short stems.