Are traumatic hip dislocations of the young and the elderly comparable: review of the literature from a recent case

Abstract

Traumatic hip dislocation is a condition mostly encountered among young patients. However, clinical series reported regularly cases among elderly. From those, it seems that traumatic hip dislocation in young and elderly patients have a different profile. We present the case of a traumatic hip dislocation in a patient of 81 years secondary to a fall from his height. No fracture occurred. The dislocation was reduced by external maneuvers 3 h after the trauma. At last follow-up of 1 year, the patient developed a secondary hip osteoarthritis despite any articular incongruence. From a review of the literature, we found that epidemiology, pathophysiology, and prognosis of traumatic dislocation of the hip in the elderly may be different than those in young subjects. Hence, we suggest that the two conditions should be separated. Level of evidence: V. Expert opinion.