Improving cup positioning using a mechanical navigation instrument.

BACKGROUND Although surgical navigation reduces the rate of malpositioned acetabular cups in total hip arthroplasty (THA), its use has not been widely adopted. As a result of our perceived need for simple and efficient methods of navigation, we developed a mechanical navigation device for acetabular cup orientation. QUESTIONS/PURPOSES We assessed accuracy of cup orientation (mean error of cup inclination and anteversion) of a novel mechanical navigation device, percentage of outliers, length of operation, and compared the results with a series of CT-based computer-assisted THAs. METHODS Cup orientation of 70 THAs performed using the mechanical navigation device was compared with a historical control group of 146 THAs performed using CT-based computer navigation. Postoperative cup orientation was measured using a validated two-dimensional/three-dimensional matching method. An outlier was defined outside a range of ± 10° from the planned inclination and/or anteversion. RESULTS Using the mechanical navigation device, we observed a decrease in the errors of inclination (1.3° ± 3.4° [range, -6.6° to 8.2°] versus 3.5° ± 4.2° [-12.7° to 6.9°]), errors of anteversion (1.0° ± 4.1° [-8.8° to 9.5°] versus 3.0° ± 5.8° [-11.8° to 19.6°]), percentages of outliers (0% versus 9.6%), and length of operation (112 ± 22 [78-184] minutes versus 132 ± 18 [90-197] minutes) compared with CT-based navigation. CONCLUSIONS Compared with CT-based surgical navigation, navigation of acetabular cup orientation using a mechanical device can be performed in less time, lower mean errors, and minimal equipment.