Background: The extended trochanteric osteotomy has been a useful approach for patients undergoing revision total hip arthroplasty; however, it has not been well described as an approach for those undergoing complex primary total hip arthroplasty. The purpose of the present report is to describe our experience with the use of an extended trochanteric osteotomy for patients undergoing complex primary total hip arthroplasty.

Methods: Six patients underwent primary total hip arthroplasty with use of an extended trochanteric osteotomy. The reasons for the use of this technique included severe femoral deformity, removal of intraosseous hardware, and high-riding developmental hip dysplasia. A fully porous-coated femoral component with diaphyseal fixation was used for all reconstructions. The mean age of the patients at the time of surgery was fifty-six years. Clinical and radiographic evaluation was performed at a minimum of two years.

Results: After a mean duration of follow-up of fifty months, all patients had an osseointegrated, stable femoral component. The site of the extended trochanteric osteotomy healed in five of the six patients. One patient had nonunion at the osteotomy site and a fracture at the base of the greater trochanter, with a subsequent fracture of the femoral component. The mean Merle D'Aubigné and Postel pain and walking scores improved from 2.2 and 2.3 preoperatively to 5.3 and 4.7 at the time of the final follow-up (p < 0.001).

Conclusions: The extended trochanteric osteotomy is useful for the correction of femoral deformity and facilitates the removal of intraosseous hardware in carefully selected patients undergoing complex primary total hip arthroplasty.

Level of Evidence: Therapeutic study, Level IV (case series [no, or historical, control group]). See Instructions to Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.