Palmer Shawn W, Luu Hue H, Finn Henry A
University of Chicago Bone and Joint Replacement Center at Weiss Chicago, Illinois 60640, USA.
J Arthroplasty. 2003 Jun;18(4):533-6. doi: 10.1016/s0883-5403(03)00026-3.
A case of a fistula between the hip and the vagina in a 46-year-old woman after acetabular revision for a failed total hip arthroplasty (THA) is presented. This patient had undergone multiple revision procedures complicated by infection after a primary THA failed because of chronic recurrent dislocation. The patient 18 months after reconstruction of a pelvic discontinuity using an antiprotrusio cage. The chief complaint was weight-bearing groin pain and persistent atypical vaginal discharge. Plain radiographs showed a fracture of the antiprotrusio cage with medial and superior migration of the acetabular cage into the pelvis. An arthrogram showed a fistula between the hip joint and the vagina. To our knowledge, a hip-vaginal fistula has not been reported previously as a complication of THA.
