The Importance of Bone Mineral Density inHip Arthroplasty: Results of a Survey Asking OrthopaedicSurgeons about Their Opinions and Attitudes ConcerningOsteoporosis and Hip Arthroplasty

In patients scheduled to undergo total joint arthroplasty of the hip, the bone quality around the joint affects the safetyof prosthetic implantation. Bone strength is clinically assessed by measuring bone mineral density (BMD); therefore we askedif BMD is important to orthopaedic surgeons performing hip arthroplasty.Methods.In a 14-question survey, we asked abouttreatment patterns with respect to BMD, osteoporosis work-up, and treatment for patients with low BMD scheduled to undergo hiparthroplasty.Results.72% of all asked orthopaedics reported to use cementless implants as a standard in hip arthroplasty. Over 60%reported that low BMD is a reason to reconsider operation strategies, but only 4% performed BMD measurement preoperatively.26% would change their treatment strategy in case of a BMD (T-Score) between−1.5 and−2and40%incaseofaT-scorebetween−2and−2.5, and 29% would change their intraoperative strategy if a T-score smaller than−2.5 was measured.Conclusion.Themajority of orthopaedic surgeons who responded to the survey reported that they do not perform routine measurement of BMDbefore arthroplasty. However, most surgeons commented that low bone mineral density will influence their surgical plan and theimplant design