Abstract
Introduction: Sickle cell anemia is endemic in south west of Saudi Arabia, and patients with hip pain and sickle cell anemia are frequently seen in orthopedic clinics and are a challenge to treat. Total hip replacement is proven to be of benefit for patients with secondary hip joint degeneration due to avascular necrosis. Patient's other musculoskeletal manifestations of sickle cell anemia have their impact on patient's outcome following hip replacement.
Objective: To compare the effects of disease manifestation other than that on the replaced hip on outcome of hip replacement in sickle cell anemia patients.
Material and Methods: Retrospective study of 20 patients who underwent total hip procedure with 6 month follow up divided into two groups, to see the effect of other musculoskeletal changes on outcome.
Results: The total hip procedure was done for all 20 patients; all patients were aged 25 to 52-years old; females were 13 patients and Males 7 patients; Left hip was affected in 12 patients and right hip in 8 patients. All patients had uneventful post-operative recovery; all patients' data is shown in Table one. 6 months post op showed less satisfaction in patients with manifestation of sickle cell anemia involving, in addition of the replaced hip, spinal disorders such as scoliosis or back pain due to infarct and collapse or soft tissue contractures of hips or knees.
Conclusion: Categorizing all sickle cell hip avascular necrosis in one group is unfair for patients and surgeons. Patients with multiple sites of disease manifestation must be considered a difficult primary hip and handled with care, while some patients with isolated hip involvement have comparable results to hip replacement in other conditions.