External radiotherapy or non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs for prevention of heterotopic ossification following total hip replacement

Heterotopic ossification (HO) is defined as the development of abnormal oss ification in soft tissues. HO is a common disease after total hip replaceme nt. Many therapeutic modalities have been proposed to prevent HO. The most commonly used modalities are nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) o r ionizing radiation administered just before or immediately after total hi p replacement. As far as external radiation therapy is concerned, there are several published randomized studies aimed at investigating its efficacy a nd timing related to surgery, and at comparing ionizing irradiation to NSAI D. In this article we review the published data in order to define guidelin es which could be used in daily practice for the choice of prophylactic tre atment against HO.