No studies have compared patient satisfaction between periacetabular osteotomy (PAO) and total hip arthroplasty (THA) for osteoarthritis (OA) secondary to developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) in Asian cohorts.

Multivariate analyses were applied to determine whether patient demographics and postoperative patient-reported outcomes were correlated with postoperative patient satisfaction in 737 DDH patients (251 PAO and 486 THA patients). Additionally, postoperative patient satisfaction, Oxford Hip Score (OHS), University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA) activity score, and sports participation were compared between propensity-matched PAO and THA patients for OA secondary to DDH (Kellgren-Lawrence grade II: 32 PAO and 16 THA patients, grade III: 20 PAO and 40 THA patients).

Of the 737 patients, 663 patients (90%) were postoperatively satisfied. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that THA was positively correlated with patient satisfaction. Furthermore, high postoperative OHS-pain, OHS-ADL, and UCLA scores were positively correlated with satisfaction. In propensity-matched PAO and THA patients, PAO elicited greater patient satisfaction than THA for KL grade II OA secondary to DDH, with comparable postoperative OHS (including the pain and ADL subscale), UCLA score, and sports participation rate. In contrast, THA resulted in better satisfaction and OHS-pain for KL grade III OA secondary to DDH, with comparable postoperative OHS-ADL, UCLA score, and sports participation rate in the 2 surgeries.

Both PAO and THA procedures offer distinct patient satisfaction advantages based on preoperative OA severity. These findings can assist in the clinical decision-making process for the surgical treatment of middle-aged patients with symptomatic DDH.