Article
Surfing after hip resurfacing arthroplasty
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Authors
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Markus Goldhofer
- Zentrum für Orthopädie und Unfallchirurgie, Unimedizin Mainz, Mainz, Germany
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Jan Vanlommel
- Orthoclinic Brugge, AZ Sint-Jan Brugge, Brugge, Belgium
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William Walter
- The Specialist Orthopaedic Group, North Sydney, Australia
| Published: | October 22, 2019 |
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Outline
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Objectives: Hip resurfacing arthroplasty (HRA) remains an attractive alternative for total hip arthroplasty in young, active male patients with disabling coxarthrosis who wish to remain active and return to sports after surgery. The purpose of this article is to evaluate the safety and feasibility to resume surfing - a high-impact physical activity - after HRA.
Methods: We reviewed our database of patients who underwent hip resurfacing between January 2005 and December 2015. Of this initial cohort, 47 patients (57 hips) practiced surfing before the onset of pain and hip surgery. Mean age at surgery was 54.4 years (range, 41.8-68.9). Average follow-up was 48 months (range 6.8-163). Clinical evaluation included the Harris hip score, the Oxford hip score and the UCLA activity score. A specific questionnaire analysing sports activities was sent to each patient to assess the number of surfing sessions before hip symptoms, in the month before hip surgery and after surgery. Serum ion levels and radiographs were obtained at latest follow-up.
Results: All patients returned to surfing after HRA, although 50% of patients could not surf anymore during the month before surgery. 50% of patients returned to their previous level of surfing activities and 21% of patients even improved their level. Average time to start surfing again after surgery was 5.6 months (range, 1.5-12). More than 80% of patients commenced surfing within the first 6 months after surgery. During surfing, 57% of patients were completely pain free. One patient (2%) underwent a conversion to a total hip arthroplasty because of refractory groin pain. In the remaining patients no osteolysis or implant loosening was observed at follow-up. Serum ion levels remained within the normal limits for all patients.
Conclusion: No literature exist regarding the return to a high-impact sport as surfing after HRA. Most of our patients (71%) were able to return at least to their preoperative level of surfing after surgery. No complications related to this sport activity were observed during short-term follow-up and serum ion levels remained within the normal limits. We believe that surfing is compatible with HRA, but long-term studies are necessary to assess the influence of this extreme sport on loosening and revision rates.
