Preservation of the articular capsule and short lateral rotator in direct anterior approach to total hip arthroplasty

INTRODUCTION: In total hip arthroplasty via a direct anterior approach, the femur must be elevated at the time of femoral implant placement. For adequate elevation, division of the posterior soft tissues is necessary. However, if we damage and separate the posterior muscle tissue, we lose the benefits of the intermuscular approach. Furthermore, damage to the posterior soft tissue can result in posterior dislocation. We investigate that protecting the posterior soft tissue increases the joint stability in the early postoperative period and results in a lower dislocation rate. METHODS: We evaluated muscle strength recovery by measuring the maximum width of the internal obturator muscle on CT images (GE-Healthcare Discovery CT 750HD). We compared the maximum width of the muscle belly preoperatively versus 10 days and 6 months postoperatively. As clinical evaluations, we also investigated the range of motion of the hip joint, hip joint function based on the Japanese Orthopaedic Association hip score (JOA score), and the dislocation rate 6 months after surgery. RESULTS: The width of the internal obturator muscle increased significantly from 15.1 ± 3.1 mm before surgery to 16.4 ± 2.8 mm 6 months after surgery. The JOA score improved significantly from 50.8 ± 15.1 points to 95.6 ± 7.6 points. No dislocations occurred in this study. CONCLUSIONS: We cut only the posterosuperior articular capsule and protected the internal obturator muscle to preserve muscle strength. We repaired the entire posterosuperior and anterior articular capsule. These treatments increase joint stability in the early postoperative period, thus reducing the dislocation rate. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Therapeutic, Level IV.