Total hip arthroplasty for surgical management of advanced tuberculous hip arthritis: Case report

Tuberculosis (TB) arthritis of the hip is a debilitating disease that often results in severe cartilage destruction and degeneration of the hip. In advanced cases, arthrodesis of the hip confers benefits to the young, high-demand and active patient. However, many of these patients go on to develop degenerative arthritis of the spine, ipsilateral knee and contralateral hip, necessitating the need for a conversion to total hip arthroplasty. Conversion of a previously fused hip to a total hip arthroplasty presents as a surgical challenge due to altered anatomy, muscle atrophy, previous surgery and implants, neighbouring joint arthritis and limb length discrepancy. We report a case of advanced TB arthritis of the hip joint in a middle-aged Singaporean Chinese gentleman with a significant past medical history of miliary tuberculosis and previous hip arthrodesis. Considerations in pre-operative planning, surgical approaches and potential pitfalls are discussed and the operative technique utilized and post-operative rehabilitative regime of this patient is described. This case highlights the necessity of pre-operative planning and the operative technique used in the conversion of a previous hip arthrodesis to a total hip arthroplasty in a case of TB hip arthritis.