A Simple Technique for Alignment in Total Hip Resurfacing Arthroplasty

Correctly positioning the alignment wire with respect to the femoral neck is the key to the proper functioning of hip resurfacing arthroplasty. The wire must aligned in two planes. This title shows a simple technique to align both planes. It demonstrates how to define these planes with marks on the neck and head and with Kirschner wires.

---

This title focuses on such areas as: joint replacement and hip, knee & lower extremity. Correctly positioning the alignment wire with respect to the femoral neck is the key to the proper functioning and survival of hip resurfacing arthroplasty. The wire must aligned in two planes. However, to control more than one plane at a time, the surgeon must move or change the wires position or rely on the indications of an assistant. This video shows a simple technique to align both planes. This approach to correctly positioning our references is based on the anatomy of the femur and the application of a basic trigonometric principle: the intersection of two different planes always defines a single line. Independent placement of two parallel alignment wires, one for valgus orientation and another for version orientation, determines two planes. At the intersection of these planes, the surgeon can establish both the optimum entrance point into the femoral head and the orientation line of the alignment wire. The video demonstrates how to define these planes with marks on the neck and head and with Kirschner wires, which prolong these usually insufficient marks, to make them clear, reliable, and visible.