Peripheral neuropathies associated with total hip arthroplasty.

The clinical and electromyographic findings in fourteen patients in whom peripheral nerve damage developed after total hip arthroplasty were reviewed (an incidence of 0.7 per cent in 2,012 procedures). In addition, a prospective study of the clinical, electromyographic, and nerve-conduction findings before and after arthroplasty was performed on twenty-eight patients who had thirty total hip arthroplasties. In the prospective study many patients showed evidence of mild nerve damage, most likely due to operative trauma. Peroneal neuropathies at the knee did not occur in either study. Nerve damage was more frequent in women, but no other predisposing factor could be identified. The prognosis for most patients with severe nerve injuries after total hip arthroplasty is good.