Hip arthrodesis in young patients. A long-term follow-up study.

We evaluated the results in fifty-three patients who had had a successful hip arthrodesis at least twenty years (average, thirty-eight years) prior to the study and who had been less than thirty-five years old at the time of operation. We determined the functional history of each patient and the current status of the opposite hip, the knees, and the back. Radiographs were made and each joint was rated according to standard clinical scales. Seventy-eight per cent of the patients were satisfied with the arthrodesis, and all were able to work. Fifty-seven per cent had some low-back pain and 45 per cent, some knee discomfort. Only seven patients (13 per cent) had had a total hip arthroplasty on the arthrodesed hip.