[SURGICAL HIP DISLOCATION APPROACH FOR TREATMENT OF FEMORAL HEAD FRACTURE].

OBJECTIVE

To discuss the value of surgical hip dislocation approach in the treatment of femoral head fracture.

METHODS

A retrospectively analysis was made on the clinical data of 15 patients with femoral head fractures treated through surgical hip dislocation approach between January 2010 and February 2013. There were 11 men and 4 women with an average age of 30.8 years (range, 15-63 years). The causes included traffic accident injury in 9 cases, falling injury from height in 5 cases, and sports injury in 1 case. According to Pipkin typing, 2 cases were rated as type I, 7 cases as type II, 1 case as type III, and 5 cases as type IV. The interval of injury and operation was 2-10 days (mean, 4.1 days). Reduction was performed in 10 patients within 6 hours after injury, and then bone traction was given for 4-6 weeks except 5 patients who received reduction in the other hospital.

RESULTS

Primary healing of incision was obtained in all patients after surgery without complications of dislocation and lower limbs deep venous thrombosis. The mean follow-up time was 29.9 months (range, 25-36 months). During follow-up, there was no infection, breakage of internal fixation, or nonunion of femoral greater trochanter fracture. In 3 patients having necrosis of the femoral head, 2 had no obvious symptoms [staging as IIa and IIb respectively according to Association Research Circulation Osseous (ARCO) staging system], and 1 (stage IIIb) had nonunion of the femoral neck fracture, who underwent total hip arthroplasty (THA). In 4 patients having myositis ossificans (2 cases of grade I, 1 case of grade II, and 1 case of grade III based on Brooker grading), no treatment was given in 3 cases and the focus was removed during THA in 1 case. According to the Thompson-Epstein scale at last follow-up, the results were excellent in 9 cases, good in 3 cases, fair in 1 case, and poor in 2 cases, and the excellent and good rate was 80%.

CONCLUSION

Surgical hip dislocation approach can not only protect the residual vessels of the femoral head but also fully expose the acetabulum and femoral head, which is the ideal approach for the treatment of femoral head fractures.