Acetabular Exposure Is Enhanced With Self-Retaining Retractors During Direct Anterior Total Hip Arthroplasty

Acetabular exposure for direct anterior (DA) total hip arthroplasty (THA) can be performed using hands-free, self-retaining retractors. No current study quantitatively compares this self-retaining technique with the traditional manual technique. In 65 consecutive DA THA hips, two “best-view” digital photographs were taken of the exposure—one using Charnley/self-retaining retractors and one using a traditional three-retractor manual technique. Percent exposure of the polyethylene liner was calculated. Percent acetabular exposure averaged 80.0% using the Charnley/self-retaining technique, compared with 73.1% using the manual technique ( P =.0002). A hands-free technique provides superior acetabular exposure compared with the manual technique. Increasing body mass index predicts decreasing exposure with both techniques. [ Orthopedics . 2021;44(2):e309–e313.]