Total Hip Arthroplasty: An Update on Navigation, Robotics, and Contemporary Advancements

Abstract

While total hip arthroplasty (THA) remains effective for improvement of pain and function in patients with osteoarthritis and avascular necrosis, there remain areas of continued pursuit of excellence, including decreasing rates of dislocation, leg length discrepancy, implant loosening, and infection. This review article covers several bearing surfaces and articulations, computer-assisted navigation and robotic technology, and minimally invasive surgical approaches that have sought to improve such outcomes. Perhaps the most significant improvement to THA implant longevity has been the broad adoption of highly cross-linked polyethylene, with low wear rates. Similarly, navigation and robotic technology has proven to more reproducibly achieve intraoperative component positioning, which has demonstrated clinical benefit with decreased risk of dislocation in a number of studies. Given the projected increase in THA over the coming decades, continued investigation of effective incorporation of technology, soft tissue–sparing approaches, and durable implants is imperative to continued pursuit of improved outcomes in THA.