Posterior hip dislocation in a five-year-old boy: a case report, review of the literature, and current recommendations.

Traumatic hip dislocation constitutes a true orthopedic emergency, is a relatively rare occurrence in the pediatric population, and may be accompanied by minimal trauma. Long-term morbidity such as avascular necrosis or osteoarthritis of the femoral head may be significant if the diagnosis is not expeditiously confirmed radiographically and prompt reduction employed. A poorer prognosis is conferred by duration of dislocation for longer than 6 h, advanced skeletal maturity of the patient, severe joint injury, or multiple trauma in the affected patient. A case report involving traumatic hip dislocation in a 5-yr-old boy is described followed by a comparative review of the pediatric and adult literature with current recommendations.