Postoperative acetabular retroversion causes posterior osteoarthritis of the hip

We retrospectively reviewed 68 hips in 62 patients with acetabular dysplasia who underwent curved periacetabular osteotomy. Among the 68 hips, 33 had acetabular retroversion (retroversion group) and 35 had anteversion (control group) preoperatively. All hips were evaluated according to the Harris hip score. Radiographic evaluations of acetabular retroversion and posterior wall deficiency were based on the cross-over sign and posterior wall sign, respectively. The clinical scores of the two groups at the final follow-up were similar. In the retroversion group, 12 hips had anteverted acetabulum postoperatively. The posterior wall sign disappeared in these hips, but remained in 21 hips with retroverted acetabulum postoperatively. Among the 21 hips with retroverted acetabulum, posterior osteoarthritis of the hip developed postoperatively in five hips. When performing corrective osteotomy for a dysplastic hip with acetabular retroversion, it is important to correct the acetabular retroversion to prevent posterior osteoarthritis of the hip due to posterior wall deficiency.