Background:

Frequently, patients with hip complaints also report lower back pain, and elective surgery may be indicated due to end-stage hip osteoarthritis and degenerative disc disease. Thus, we aim to answer the question of whether total hip arthroplasty (THA) or lumbar spine surgery should be performed first in patients with hip-spine-syndrome, from an arthroplasty surgeon’s point of view.

Decision-making:

The present review demonstrates that in patients with an acute neurological deficit, lumbar spine surgery should be performed first. However, in patients without these symptoms, several arguments favour performing THA first, especially the increased risk of dislocation when performing THA after lumbar spine fusion (LSF) in comparison to “THA first” (4.6 vs. 1.7% after 2 years; p < 0,001). However, the risk of dislocation after THA remains increased in both scenarios, independent of surgical order. Consequently, arthroplasty surgeons should pay great attention to optimum component positioning, reconstruction of the hip anatomy, leg length and soft-tissue tension, while considering using large prosthesis heads or dual mobility cups when performing primary THA in patients with an increased risk of dislocation. In complex cases, we would encourage arthroplasty and spine surgeons working in cooperation on highly individual treatment concepts.