Artroplastica di resezione secondo Girdlestone

Abstract

The removal of the head and neck of the femur is one of the time-honored operations used for the management of diseases of the hip. It was brought to notice by Girdlestone (1945), whose name it now bears, and has been used by him in cases of tuberculosis and/or a variety of painful conditions of the hip joint which were resistant to conservative treatment. As a method of operative treatment of osteoarthritis of the hip, Girdlestone’s operation has lost much of its appeal in the last years, with the coming of total arthroplasties of the hip. However, medically suboptimal and functionally compromised patients, who have a high anaesthetic and operative risk, may not be suited for any further major interventions. In such cases, the Girdlestone resection arthroplasty (pseudarthrosis coxae) should be considered as a salvage procedure, primarily aimed at pain relief and infection control. Such patients must be warned to expect 2–3 cm of limb shortening and reliance upon a walking aid postoperatively.