Fred Heatley Award 2011 Event

A radiographic study into the safe placement of acetabular screws in total hip arthroplasty

Onur BerberAlistair Tindall

Queen Elizabeth Hospital

InvestigationThis study defines the structures around the acetabulum that may be at risk during screw placement in hip arthroplasty.Method100 CT scans were reviewed to determine the proximity of various structures. This included the distance from the acetabular dome or columns, of the external iliac vessels, the obturator (OA) and superior gluteal (SGA) arteries and the sciatic nerve (SN).ResultsDistance of the EIA was on average 27mm from the anterior column at an angle of 31o in the antero-posterior plane. The OA was 14mm from the floor. The SGA crossed the sciatic notch 45mm from the dome. The SN was present 26mm from the posterior column.DiscussionThis study provides safe distances from key points of the acetabulum for the insertion of acetabular screws.