Surgical dislocation of the adult hip. A technique for the treatment of articular pathology of the hip

Abstract

Surgical dislocation of the femoral head with trochanteric osteotomy is a safe and effective approach for the treatment of articular pathology, including femoro-acetabular impingement, periarticular tumors, femoral head fractures, and some acetabular fractures. It now allows the safe execution of subcapital reorientation procedures, femoral neck osteotomy, and even femoral head osteotomy. It affords visualization of both the femoral head and the acetabulum. Articular reduction can be visually confirmed rather than inferred from the reduction of the retroacetabular surface. An understanding of the anatomy of the medial femoral circumflex vessel is the key to avoiding complications with this approach. With the experience of more than 1000 cases of surgical dislocation, no cases of osteonecrosis have occurred.