Research Journal of Medical Sciences
ISSN: Online 1993-6095ISSN: Print 1815-9346
Abstract
Hemiarthroplasty of the hip remains the gold standard in treating displaced fractures of the neck of the femur. Assuring satisfactory function for the patient’s remaining life span is essential while determining the success of the surgery. Long‐term survival of the implant is limited by the anatomical discrepancy between the size of the implant and the native head, which is a rotational conchoid. A mismatch between the implant diameter and the acetabulum has been recognised as a cause of accelerated acetabular erosion and subsequent disability following hemiarthroplasty, which may potentiate the need for revision surgery. Most of the studies so far measured femoral head size from cadaveric specimens where femoral head size is underestimated due to the specimen’s loss of articular cartilage and dryness. Our study aimed to measure the average diameter of the femoral head in near‐normal situations encountered on the operation table among individuals who had trauma of the femur neck. An observational study was done among adults between 50‐90 years who underwent hemiarthroplasty for fracture neck of the femur in the Department of Orthopaedics, Pushpagiri Institute of Medical Sciences. The femoral head was delivered after opening the joint cavity following a posterior or lateral approach. The vertical diameter of the head of the femur was measured at a right angle to the long axis of the neck of the femur. We evaluated 434 femoral heads from patients who underwent hemiarthroplasty for displaced femoral neck fractures. Out of which 61.3% were females. The mean vertical diameter of the head of the femur was found to be 46.19±2.64 mm in the male population and 41.41±2.28 mm in the female population, and the difference remained statistically significant (p = 0.00001). The male population had 82 right‐sided and 86 left‐sided subjects, with an average vertical diameter of 46.29±2.43 mm on the right side and 46.19±‐2.64 mm on the left side. The difference was not statistically significant (p>0.05). Among females, 128 specimens were right‐sided and 138 left‐sided the mean vertical diameter of the femoral head, 41.37±‐2.3 mm on the right side and 41.44±‐2.27 on the left side, failed to show any significant difference (p>0.05). There exists a significant difference in the mean vertical diameter of the femoral head between males and females among the adult population of South Kerala. Values on the left side are higher than those on the right, though not statistically significant. The mean vertical diameter of the fresh samples is higher than those obtained from cadaveric studies. As the femoral head diameter is normally distributed, biological engineers should consider making prostheses with increments of 1mm for better congruency.
How to cite this article:
Kiran. R, Praveen. K and Mohammaed Waseem. Estimation of Femoral Head Diameter Among Adult South Indian Population: A Study in the Heads Removed During Hemiarthroplasty.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.36478/10.59218/makrjms.2023.12.12.16
URL: https://www.makhillpublications.co/view-article/1815-9346/10.59218/makrjms.2023.12.12.16