Published online Nov 18, 2021. doi: 10.5312/wjo.v12.i11.859
Peer-review started: May 26, 2021
First decision: July 27, 2021
Revised: August 14, 2021
Accepted: September 15, 2021
Article in press: September 15, 2021
Published online: November 18, 2021
Processing time: 173 Days and 4.4 Hours
Preoperative templating is essential in total hip arthroplasty (THA) as it not only helps to facilitate the correct implant type and size but also determines the post-operative biomechanics. Templating is also increasingly important from a medico-legal perspective and recommended in the British Orthopaedic Association Guide to Good Practice. Although templating has become increasingly digitised, there are no simple anthropometric models to predict implant sizes in the absence of digital methods.
To assess the accuracy of using an easily obtainable measurement (shoe size) to predict component sizes in THA compared with digital templating.
Digital radiographs from a cohort of 102 patients (40 male, 62 female) who had undergone uncemented or hybrid THA at a single centre were retrospectively templated to desired cup and stem sizes using TraumaCad®. We compared the templated size to the actual size of the implant and assessed if there was any correlation with the patient’s shoe size.
Statistically significant positive correlations were observed between: shoe size and templated cup size (ρ = 0.92, P < 0.001); shoe size with implanted cup size (ρ = 0.71, P < 0.001); shoe size and templated stem size (ρ = 0.87, P < 0.001); and shoe size with implanted stem size (ρ = 0.57, P < 0.001). Templated and implanted acetabular cup sizes were positively correlated (ρ = 0.76, P < 0.001) and were exact in 43.1% cases; 80.4% of implanted cup sizes were within 1 size (+/- 2 mm) of the template and 100% within 2 sizes (+/- 4 mm). Positive correlation was also demonstrated between templated and implanted femoral stem sizes (ρ = 0.69, P < 0.001) and were exact in 52.6% cases; 92.6% were within 1 size of the template and 98% within 2 sizes.
This study has shown there to be a significant positive correlation between shoe size and templated size. Anthropometric measurements are easily obtainable and can be used to predict uncemented component sizes in the absence of digital methods.
Core Tip: Templating for component size in total hip arthroplasty is becoming increasingly digitised, which can be limited by cost and availability of software. There are no anthropometric models to predict component sizes in the absence of digital methods. We demonstrated significant positive correlations between a patient’s shoe size and both their templated and implanted component sizes. Shoe size can reliably predict implant sizes in uncemented hip arthroplasty. In addition to helping the surgeon make a rapid estimation of implant size; this simple system can also assist purchasing departments to plan preoperative stock requirements without specialised software.