Introduction of total hip arthroplasty in Lithuania: Results from the first 10 years

Background Hip replacement as a routine procedure was introduced in Lithuania in 1991. At Klaipeda Hospital, one of the 2 hospitals at which this was begun, the arthroplasties were followed prospectively from the start. This study concerns the 10-year results from a country with no previous experience of hip replacement. The results are compared with those from a hospital with considerable experience of total hip replacement.

Methods We compared the revision rate for the first 658 primary ScanHip arthroplasties inserted at Klaipeda to that for the first 939 ScanHip primary arthroplasties inserted at Lund University Hospital, Sweden. Only patients with osteoarthritis were included, and the endpoint was revision for aseptic loosening with exchange of one or both components.

Results We found that patients operated at Klaipeda Hospital had a significantly higher risk of revision (12%) than those operated in Lund (6%).

Interpretation Although we could not identify any specific reason for the Swedish results being better than the Lithuanian results, it is probable that previous surgical inexperience of hip replacement in Lithuania played a role. We believe that the findings will stimulate surgeons in Lithuania to analyze their failures and improve the results.