The trochanteric double contour is a valuable landmark for assessing femoral offset underestimation on standard radiographs: a retrospective study

Background

Inaccurate projection on standard pelvic radiographs leads to the underestimation of femoral offset—a critical determinant of postoperative hip function—during total hip arthroplasty (THA) templating. We noted that the posteromedial facet of the greater trochanter and piriformis fossa form a double contour on radiographs, which may be valuable in determining the risk of underestimating femoral offset. We evaluate whether projection errors can be predicted based on the double contour width.

Methods

Plain anteroposterior (AP) pelvic radiographs and magnetic resonance images (MRIs) of 64 adult hips were evaluated retrospectively. Apparent femoral offset, apparent femoral head diameter and double contour widths were evaluated from the radiographs. X-ray projection errors were estimated by comparison to the true neck length measured on MRIs after calibration to the femoral heads. Multivariate analysis with backward elimination was used to detect associations between the double contour width and radiographic projection errors. Femoral offset underestimation below 10% was considered acceptable for templating.

Results

The narrowest width of the double line between the femoral neck and piriformis fossa is significantly associated with projection error. When double line widths exceed 5 mm, the risk of projection error greater than 10% is significantly increased compared to narrower double lines, and the acceptability rate for templating drops below 80% (p = 0.02).

Conclusion

The double contour width is a potential landmark for excluding pelvic AP radiographs unsuitable for THA templating due to inaccurate femoral rotation.