Early dislocation after total hip arthroplasty: are postoperative restrictions necessary?

We studied prospectively 499 cases of primary total hip arthroplasty done through an anterolateral approach to establish the early dislocation rate when restrictions on postoperative mobilization were not imposed. There were 3 early dislocations (within 6 weeks of surgery). All were reduced closed, and every patient subsequently achieved a stable hip without further intervention. Our results suggest that a low early dislocation rate can be achieved using an anterolateral approach without the need to restrict patients' postoperative mobilization. It may not be appropriate, however, to remove these restrictions when using other surgical approaches to the hip.