A Consistent Anatomic Landmark for Identifying the Lateral Femoral Circumflex Artery in a Direct Anterior Hip Approach

A direct anterior approach (DAA) is a technique practiced by arthroplasty surgeons that can be technically challenging, most notably for inexperienced surgeons. The lateral femoral circumflex artery (LFCA) is a branch of the femoral artery that crosses the surgical field during DAA and is an important landmark for superficial surgical dissection. If the vessel is not identified, significant bleeding may occur, and visualization may be impaired. This study aimed to develop a reliable method to identify and ligate the LFCA with minimal bleeding. First, a retrospective review was performed on a series of patients who underwent primary DAA total hip arthroplasty. Epidemiologic and intraoperative radiologic information was collected to determine the 2-dimensional location of the LFCA as it coursed through the surgical interval. Second, a series of computed tomography (CT) angiograms were compared to validate the intraoperative anatomic findings. In this study, 108 patients were evaluated fluoroscopically and 100 CT angiograms were obtained, for 208 total patients. The distance of the LFCA from the lesser trochanter with standard fluoroscopy (LT/TD) was 0.600 vs 0.438 on CT angiogram. Mean offset from midline (offset/femur diameter) was 0.166 lateral to midline vs 0.36 medial to midline. Median value of offset was 0 vs 0.411—representing a position on the anatomic axis of the femur. This study confirmed that the LFCA is found approximately one-third to two-thirds of the way between the lesser and greater trochanters along the anatomic axis of the femur for most patients. Surgeons who are new to DAA can use the LFCA as a reliable landmark to confirm the correct interval. [ Orthopedics . 2022;45(5):262–268.]