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Primary ileus after total hip arthroplasty: rare complication or sentinel event?

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Abstract

The incidence of hip dislocation after primary total hip arthroplasty (THA) has been reported to range from 1 to 25% in THA revision. Here, we explore the hypothesis that there is a correlation between postoperative ileus (POI) and THA dislocation, with POI after THA possibly representing a sentinel event. We retrospectively identified a cohort of 529 consecutive patients who underwent hip arthroplasty from 2008 to 2010. Of them, 251 were male and 278 were female, and a mean average for age of 71.5 (range 65–76). In particular, 19 THA patients showed signs of gastrointestinal complications, and therapeutic consultation was performed with the onset of the first intestinal symptom. Of these 19 patients, 3 THA patients developed POI within 1 week after surgical treatment. A conservative treatment was practised and it seemed to improve the condition: canalization returned and all patients were discharged from the hospital. Unfortunately, two of these patients were readmitted after 2 weeks due to THA dislocation and they underwent THA revision and were discharged from the hospital 7 days later. Follow-up revealed no further problems at 6 months. Our clinical experience with these post-THA primary ileus patients raises the possibility that intra-abdominal symptoms represent a sentinel event in THA dislocation. THA dislocation using neuronal pathway of immunomodulation may modulate POI. Since the risk of THA dislocation is the greatest in the first 3 months after hip arthroplasty, the surgeon should be familiar with the relationship between THA and various pelvic and visceral complications to ensure that POI remains only a rare complication.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank the nurses in Fondazione Opera San Camillo of Milan, for their contributions to the data collection, and Aceto Roberta for assistance with computer programming.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of General Surgery B, Foundation IRCCS “Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori”, Via G. Venezian, 1, 20133, Milan, Italy

    Alberto Vannelli

  2. Division of Anesthesia, Fondazione Opera San Camillo Milano, Via Macchi, 5, Milan, Italy

    Domenico LaVeneziana

  3. Division of General Surgery B, Fondazione IRCCS “Istituto Nazionale Tumori” Milano, Via Venezian, 1, Milan, Italy

    Mario Rampa, Luigi Battaglia & Ermanno Leo

Authors
  1. Alberto Vannelli
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  2. Domenico LaVeneziana
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  3. Mario Rampa
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  4. Luigi Battaglia
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  5. Ermanno Leo
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Correspondence to Alberto Vannelli.

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Vannelli, A., LaVeneziana, D., Rampa, M. et al. Primary ileus after total hip arthroplasty: rare complication or sentinel event?. Updates Surg 63, 179–184 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13304-011-0084-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13304-011-0084-5

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