The functional cost of dislocation following total hip arthroplasty.

The consequences of dislocation following total hip arthroplasty were assessed using quantitative gait analysis. As a preliminary study, a review of 18 patients having undergone hip arthroplasty without dislocation provided as understanding of the improvement in gait in the first two years after surgery. Seven patients with a single dislocation and six patients with multiple dislocations were compared with patients matched according to age and preoperative gait characteristics and who experienced an uncomplicated recovery following hip arthroplasty. One year after surgery patients with a single dislocation could not be differentiated from the matched patients with respect to gait velocity and single limb support time. However, patients, with multiple dislocations walked significantly slower and had a significantly decreased single limb support time in the involved extremity than their respective matched patients.