Acetabular Dysplasia and Osteoarthritis Developed by an Eversion of the Acetabular Labrum

ABSTRACT

There is much confusion in orthopedic literature regarding the nature and significance of the so-called acetabular labrum in congenital dislocation of the hip. This experiment describes an animal model in which the relationship between eversion of the acetabular labrum and acetabular dysplasia with degeneration of the articular cartilage was studied. The acetabulum gradually become shallower and more vertically oriented and the femoral head gradually subluxed, but never dislocated. The radiographic appearance of the hip dysplasia was very similar to that seen in human beings. The animals remained asymptomatic without clinically visible signs of hip abnormality throughout the study. It was clearly demonstrated that there was substantial amounts of degenerative change in the articular cartilages of the subluxed hip with no evidence of degenerative change radiologically. It could be concluded that excision of the acetabular labrum should be avoided during open reduction of congenital dislocation of the hip.