Durability of transosseous repair of posterior soft tissues after primary total hip arthroplasty: a prospective randomized controlled trial.

PURPOSE: Posterior soft tissue repair is one of the methods for preventing dislocation after total hip arthroplasty (THA). This study aimed to evaluate durability of two separate suture materials in THA patients who underwent posterior soft tissue repair.
METHODS: 42 THA patients were included in the study. The patients were randomly divided into two groups, where braided nonabsorbable suture was used in group A (n = 22), while braided absorbable suture was used in group B (n = 20). While repairing the posterior soft tissues, the piriformis and triceps coxae tendons together with the capsule were reattached to the greater trochanter via pull out sutures. Two hemoclips were attached as distance markers to both pull out sutures on the medial and lateal sides of the greater trochanter. Anteroposterior radiographs were taken one day, 15 days, 3 months and 6 months after operation. Distances between the hemoclips medial and lateral to the greater trochanter were measured on the radiographs, and the closest distances were recorded. The repair was considered a failure if the difference of distances between the first and any of the follow-up measurements exceeded 15 mm.
RESULTS: No statistically significant difference was observed between the groups. In both groups, elongation magnitudes in all time intervals were statistically significant while the results obtained from measurements taken 15 days after operation were more significant (p < 0.01). No dislocations were observed.
CONCLUSION: We conclude that for transosseous posterior soft tissue repair in THA, both absorbable and nonabsorbable sutures are similarly durable and can be routinely performed.