Does robotic-arm assisted total hip arthroplasty benefit short-term clinical outcomes? A pair match-controlled study

Abstract

Recent advances have made robotic assistance a viable option in total hip arthroplasty (THA). However, the clinical outcomes of this procedure relative to THA without robotic assistance have yet to be reported. This study presents short-term outcomes of robotically assisted THA compared to a pair-matched control group of patients that underwent THA without robotic assistance.Data were prospectively collected on all THAs performed from July 2011 to January 2015. Patients were included if they underwent primary THA treating idiopathic osteoarthritis and were eligible for minimum two-year follow-up. Outcomes were measured using Harris Hip Score (HHS), the Forgotten Joint Score (FJS-12), pain on a visual analog scale (VAS), and satisfaction from 0-10. Patients that underwent THA with robotic assistance were matched 1:1 with THA patients without robotic assistance for age, sex, BMI, and approach.There were 85 patients in each study group. There were no significant differences in the demographic factors matched for. Both HHS and FJS-12 were significantly higher in the robotic assistance group at minimum two-year follow-up. VAS was lower in the robotic assistance group, but this was not statistically significant (p = 0.12). There was a not a significant difference in patient satisfaction. There was no significant difference in the rate of postoperative complications or subsequent revisions between groups.Robotically assisted THA is safe and may lead to superior short-term outcomes compared to THA without robotic assistance.