LAUSR

With the growing number of total hip replacements (THR) in every year, new developments have recently been introduced in the operational technique. It is still debated whether the joint capsule during THR should be resected or preserved, based on the primary conditions. The differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) has recently been found useful in the evaluation of septic and non-septic arthritis. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether there is a specific pattern in the thermal characteristics of joint capsule samples, collected from patients with arthritis, avascular femoral head necrosis (AVN) and femoral neck fractures. Materials and the capsule samples were harvested during THRs and considered to be a waste material. The thermal characteristics (maximal denaturation temperature, Tm and calorimetric enthalpy change, ΔHcal) were monitored by SETARAM Micro DSC-II calorimeter between 37 and 90 °C with 0.3 K min−1 heating rate. The denaturation scans of different joint capsule samples have clearly demonstrated specific, representative changes in case of arthritis, AVN and femoral neck fractures. The marked differences in the thermal characteristics of arthritic and AVN samples compared to the acute fractures could be explained by the inflammatory or degenerative conditions, respectively. DSC could be a useful tool in the evaluation of the different conditions of human joint capsules, providing further help in the investigation of orthopaedic surgical methods.