Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42622668›Full record

SynthesisArchives of orthopaedic and trauma surgery2026

The effect of surgeon volume on outcomes after total hip arthroplasty: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Nils Meissner, Katharina Ortwig, Sonia Ramos-Pascual, Chinyelum Agu, Johannes Stoeve, Daniel Schrednitzki, Tim Rolvien, Andreas M Halder

Abstract readSystematic ReviewMeta-AnalysisReview
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Archives of orthopaedic and trauma surgery, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Nils MeissnerDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, Sana Hospital Sommerfeld, Kremmen, Germany. nils.meissner@sana.de.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7321-219X
Katharina OrtwigGerman Society for Orthopedics and Trauma Surgery, Berlin, Germany.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0007-6691-4250
Sonia Ramos-PascualReSurg (Switzerland), Nyon, Switzerland. journals@resurg.com.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0409-613X
Chinyelum AguReSurg (Switzerland), Nyon, Switzerland.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0000-5351-5268
Johannes StoeveDepartment of Orthopaedic and Trauma Surgery, St. Marien- und St. Annastiftskrankenhaus, Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Germany.
Daniel SchrednitzkiDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, Sana Hospital Sommerfeld, Kremmen, Germany.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2696-1769
Tim RolvienDepartment of Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgery, Division of Orthopaedics, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany. trolvien@uke.de.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1058-1307
Andreas M HalderDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, Sana Hospital Sommerfeld, Kremmen, Germany.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8901-5898

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeTo synthesize, critically appraise and systematically review studies comparing outcomes after primary total hip arthroplasty (THA) performed by low- vs. high-volume surgeons, and to propose evidence-based threshold definitions for these categories.

methodsThis review followed the PRISMA guidelines and was registered in PROSPERO. Medline and Embase were searched on March 24, 2025. Prospective and retrospective clinical studies were included if they reported THA thresholds for low- and high-volume surgeons. Articles not written in English or German were excluded. Outcomes were pooled and presented in forest plots. Methodological quality was assessed.

resultsOf 872 identified articles, 18 were included, reporting on 796,061 patients undergoing THA. Methodological quality was high in all studies (>6 of 7 points). Thresholds used to define high- vs. low-volume were determined using arbitrary values (n = 11), tertiles (n = 1), quartiles (n = 3), percentiles (n = 2), or receiver operating characteristic curves (n = 1). High-volume surgeons had significantly lower 1-month readmission rates [odds ratio (OR) = 1.6; p = 0.033] and 3-month mortality rates (OR = 1.8; p = 0.008). In contrast, there were no significant differences between high- and low-volume surgeons for 3-month revision rates (OR = 2.0; p = 0.228), 12-month revision rates (OR = 1.8; p = 0.228), and 3-month readmission rates (OR = 1.3; p = 0.337).

conclusionsThe included studies demonstrated considerable variability in the definitions of surgeon volume. However, there remains a trend suggesting that higher-volume surgeons experience fewer revisions, complications, readmissions, and mortality; although these differences were largely not statistically significant. Nonetheless, surgeon volume may not be the only factor influencing outcomes, as hospital and patient characteristics may influence short- to long-term outcomes following primary THA.

Indexed as

Arthroplasty, Replacement, HipClinical CompetenceSurgeonsHumansPatient ReadmissionTreatment OutcomeMeta-analysisProvider volumeSurgeon volumeSystematic reviewTotal hip arthroplasty

Identifiers

PMID42622668
PMCPMC13493433

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.