Sequential Bilateral Total Hip Arthroplasty Through a Minimally Invasive Anterior Approach is Safe to Perform

BACKGROUND: Sequential bilateral total hip arthroplasty (THA) has the potential advantages of a single operative intervention with a single hospital stay, alongside reduced costs and total rehabilitation times. Its use has been limited, however, by a theoretical increase in perioperative complications. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to assess functional outcomes and complications in patients undergoing sequential bilateral THA performed using anterior minimally invasive surgery (AMIS). We hypothesized that sequential bilateral THA yields favorable clinical outcome and is safe to perform. METHODS: Two surgical centres conducted a retrospective observational analysis of 130 patients (77 females) with a mean age of 57 (range, 35-77) years, all of whom were treated by one surgeon and followed up for 24 months. RESULTS: The mean length of hospital stay length was 8.4 (range, 6–18) days. The mean operative time was 162 (range, 92–185) minutes, the mean intraoperative blood loss was 499.1ml, and the mean preoperative and postoperative hemoglobin levels were 14.3 g/dl and 11.3 g/dl, respectively. No perioperative complications or deaths were recorded. The Harris Hip Score (HHS) improved from 44.5 ±13.7 preoperatively to 98.9 ± 1.0 at final follow-up. Also the High Activity Arthroplasty Score (HAAS) and the Questions on Life Satisfaction (FLZ) score improved significantly. CONCLUSION: This retrospective analysis suggests that, in selected patients, sequential bilateral THA via an anterior minimally invasive approach appears to be a valid alternative to two-stage bilateral THA. Further studies are warranted.