Epiphyseolysis capitis femoris

Abstract

A slipped upper femoral epiphysis (SUFE) is the most common disease of the hip among adolescents. In the light of our current knowledge on the development of coxarthrosis, it represents a first line model case that has led to a series of novel ideas in the therapy for SUFE. The development of coxarthrosis from a cam impingement, i.e., the loss of offset of the neck of the femur and degenerative damage to the acetabular lip as its early form, is seen again in the clinical picture of slipped upper femoral epiphysis. Depending on the degree of slippage, we see a varying severity of the loss of offset and thus also different extents of the potential damage to the hip joint. This knowledge is by no means new. The questions of reorientation of the epiphysis of the humeral head and thus restoration of the anatomy of the coxal end of the femur have been addressed by renowned surgeons and answered with the development of widely varying procedures for surgical correction. However, within the framework of the surgical techniques introduced for treatment of impingement syndromes of the hip, these therapeutic options have been supplemented and broadened. The current discussion about the best therapeutic strategies emphasizes the fascination of the clinical entity of upper femoral epiphysis and constitutes a central component of this article.