J Orthopaed Traumatol (2008) 9:155–158 DOI 10.1007/s10195-008-0022-6 O R I G I N A L A R T I C L E Quality of life evaluation in patients affected by osteoarthritis secondary to congenital hip dysplasia after total hip replacement Alessandra Tellini Æ Vincenza Ciccone Æ Davide Blonna Æ Roberto Rossi Æ Antongiulio Marmotti Æ Filippo Castoldi Received: 1 October 2007 / Accepted: 28 June 2008 / Published online: 16 August 2008 Springer-Verlag 2008 Abstract Background The aim of the study was to evaluate the quality of life (QoL) in patients affected by osteoarthritis (OA) secondary to congenital hip dysplasia (CHD) and treated by hip arthroplasty. Methods We prospectively treated 40 patients admitted to our hospital between 2001 and 2006. Each patient was asked to answer to two questionnaires: WOMAC and MOS SF-36. Patients were evaluated four months before surgery and once they had achieved postoperative rehabilitation. Pre- and postoperative results were analyzed and compared with the international literature on patients affected by OA and also with a healthy population. Results Pre- and post-operative results: WOMAC: pain 14.06–0.84; stiffness 4.26–0.52; function 42.68–5.39. SF- 36: physical function 18.55–84.52; role physical 28.33– 87.10; body pain 23.26–83.39; general health 55.19–81.74; vitality 32.74–72.10; social function 43.55–84.66; role emotional 68.82–93.55; mental health 48.77–79.35. All results were statistically signiﬁcant. Conclusions The study reports an important QoL improvement in patients affected by arthritis secondary to CHD that underwent hip surgery, and underlines differ- ences with respect to primary OA. QoL evaluation cannot A. Tellini (&) D. Blonna R. Rossi A. Marmotti F. Castoldi Orthopaedic and Traumatology Department, Mauriziano ‘‘Umberto I’’ Hospital, University of Turin Medical School, Largo Turati 62, 10128 Torino, Italy e-mail: aletel@yahoo.com V. Ciccone Radiology Department, Molinette Hospital, University of Turin Medical School, Torino, Italy replace either clinical and instrumental evaluation or the physician’s experience, but it can give weight to the patient’s expectations, and may be considered an efﬁcient test for medical and surgical treatments. Keywords Hip Arthritis Congenital hip dysplasia Introduction Total hip replacement Quality of life (QoL) has been deﬁned by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a ‘‘multidimensional’’ model which includes physical, material, social and emotional wellbeing, as well as individual development and daily activity [1]. The complexity of this concept makes it challenging to create validated instrumentation for the evaluation of QoL after treatment. Clinical and functional characteristics of patients treated with total hip replacement (THR) for congenital hip dys- plasia (CHD) differ from those treated for primary hip osteoarthritis (OA), in part due to the lower mean age of those affected by CHD. The primary aim of this study was to assess quality of life after total hip replacement in patients with CHD, using one general and one speciﬁc validated QoL indicator. We compare our results to the published literature on QoL in OA patients, and assess the relative validity of these instruments in the CHD population. Materials and methods Study approval was obtained from the ethical committee of our institution, in full compliance with the Declaration of 123