Patient satisfaction and function after primary and revision total hip replacement

Abstract

This study assessed and compared satisfaction and function before and after total hip replacement as reported by 531 patients who had primary and revision surgery and 1087 patients who had primary surgery only. All operations were registered by the Norwegian Arthroplasty Register during the years 1987 to 1993, with time from last surgery to followup ranging from 0.6 to 6.4 years. Sixty-one percent of the patients who underwent revision surgery and 84% of the patients who did not undergo revision surgery rated their overall satisfaction with the hip implant as good or very good. With adjustment for primary diagnosis, gender, age, bilaterality, and time since the primary operation, a substantial benefit of total hip replacement was observed in both groups with regard to pain, walking ability, and need of help. However, improvement was less among patients who underwent revision total hip replacement than among those who did not undergo revision surgery. A deterioration was seen among patients who underwent revision surgery with regard to employment status and exercise habits.