Are Nonagenarians Too Old For Total Hip Arthroplasty? An Evaluation of Morbidity and Mortality Within a Total Joint Replacement Registry

A greater number of patients aged 90 and over will become candidates for total hip arthroplasty (THA) as the nonagenarian population continues to grow. This study evaluated the patient characteristics and incidence of postoperative morbidity and mortality of 183 nonagenarian THA patients among 43,543 primary THA patients followed by a total joint replacement registry. Nonagenarians had a greater number of comorbidities preoperatively, experienced a higher one year mortality and had a longer hospital length of stay. However, nonagenarians did not have an increased risk of infection, deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism and postoperative mortality was within expected rates for individuals 90 years and older. Higher readmission rates, however, highlight the benefits of close follow up during a prolonged postoperative period.