Are the Left and Right Proximal Femurs Symmetric?

Background The contralateral femur frequently is used for preoperative templating for THA or hemiarthroplasty when the proximal femur is deformed by degenerative changes or fracture. Although femoral symmetry is assumed in these situations, it is unclear to what degree the contralateral femur is sym...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Clinical orthopaedics and related research 2013-05, Vol.471 (5), p.1593-1601
Main Authors: Young, Ernest Y., Gebhart, Jeremy, Cooperman, Daniel, Ahn, Nicholas U.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
African Americans
Basic Research
Body Height
Body Weight
Cadaver
Conservative Orthopedics
European Continental Ancestry Group
Female
Femur - anatomy & histology
Femur - diagnostic imaging
Femur Head - anatomy & histology
Femur Neck - anatomy & histology
Humans
Linear Models
Male
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Orthopedics
Radiography
Sports Medicine
Surgery
Surgical Orthopedics
Young Adult
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Summary:Background The contralateral femur frequently is used for preoperative templating for THA or hemiarthroplasty when the proximal femur is deformed by degenerative changes or fracture. Although femoral symmetry is assumed in these situations, it is unclear to what degree the contralateral femur is symmetrical. Questions/purpose We therefore defined the degree of asymmetry between left and right proximal femurs and determined whether it was affected by demographics and proximal femoral anatomy. Methods We obtained 160 paired femurs from individuals (20–40 years old), evenly distributed for gender and ethnicity (African-American and Caucasian). The height and weight of the individuals were recorded. We measured the femoral head diameter, minimal femoral neck diameter in the AP and cephalocaudal (CC) planes, and the AP femoral diaphyseal diameter. The absolute and percent differences were determined. Results All femoral measurements showed an absolute difference less than 2 mm and a percent asymmetry and difference less than 2% for the femoral head, less than 4% for the femoral neck, and less than 3.5% for the femoral shaft. We found no correlation or predictive value between absolute differences and asymmetry and age, ethnicity, gender, or weight. Height was negatively associated with femoral head differences and thus increased symmetry of the femoral head. Conclusions Our data support assumptions of substantial symmetry of the proximal femur and highlights that asymmetry is not affected by demographics or the size of the proximal femur. Asymmetry tends not to occur in isolated segments of the femur.
ISSN:0009-921X
1528-1132
DOI:10.1007/s11999-012-2704-x