Measurement and analysis of leg length in adults with unilateral developmental dysplasia of the hip

Abstract

To measure and analyze the radiographic characteristics of the leg length discrepancy in adult patients with unilateral developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH). The clinical data of 112 patients with unilateral DDH who met the selection criteria between January 2016 and June 2018 were retrospectively analyzed. There were 16 males and 96 females with an age of 20-76 years (mean, 42.9 years). According to the Crowe classification, there were 25 hips of type Ⅰ, 26 hips of type Ⅱ, 15 hips of type Ⅲ, and 46 hips of type Ⅳ (26 hips of type ⅣA without secondary acetabular formation, and 20 hips of type ⅣB with secondary acetabular formation). Full-length X-ray films of the lower limbs in the standing position were used to measure the following parameters: greater trochanter leg length (GTLL), greater trochanter femoral length (GTFL), lesser trochanter leg length (LTLL), lesser trochanter femoral length (LTFL), tibial length (TL), and intertrochanteric distance (ITD). The above parameters on the healthy and affected sides were compared and the difference of each parameter between the healthy and affected sides was calculated. Taking the difference of 5 mm between the healthy side and the affected side as the threshold value, the number of cases with the healthy side was greater than 5 mm and the affected side was greater than 5 mm were counted respectively. The difference of the imaging parameters between the healthy side and the affected side were compared between different Crowe types and between type ⅣA and type ⅣB. There was no significant difference in GTLL and LTFL between healthy and affected sides ( P>0.05); LTLL and TL of affected side were longer than healthy side, GTFL and ITD were shorter than healthy side, and the differences were significant ( P<0.05). The constituent ratio of long cases on the affected side of TL and LTLL was greater than the constituent ratio of long cases on the healthy side, while the constituent ratio of long cases on the healthy side of GTFL and ITD was greater than the constituent ratio of long cases on the affected side; there was no obvious difference in the constituent ratio of long cases on the healthy side or the affected side of GTLL and LTFL. The comparison between different Crowe types showed that only the difference in TL between type Ⅰ and type Ⅳ was significant ( P<0.05), the difference of each imaging parameter among the other types showing no significant difference ( P>0.05). Compared with type ⅣB, the differences of GTLL, TL, and ITD of type ⅣA were bigger, and the differences were significant ( P<0.05); the differences of other parameters between type ⅣA and type ⅣB were not significant ( P>0.05). In adult unilateral DDH patients, the leg length on the healthy side and the affected side is different, and the difference mainly comes from the TL and ITD, which should be paid attention to in preoperative planning.