Ipsilateral fracture dislocations of the hip and knee joints with contralateral open fracture of the leg: a rare case and its management principles / 中华创伤杂志(英文版)

ABSTRACT

This paper discussed the injury mechanism and management of a patient who had concomitant ipsilateral hip and knee dislocations and contralateral open leg fracture. A 32-year-old man presented with ipsilateral fracture-dislocations of the left hip (Pipkin's type IV) and knee (Moore II) joints and contralateral open fracture of the leg bones after a car accident. After emergency resuscitative measures, the hip joint was reduced and Pipkin's fracture was fixed using Ganz approach with lag screws; knee joint was reduced closely and tibial plateau fracture was stabilized with lateral buttress plate and a transarticular spanning fixator. The open fracture on the other leg was debrided and fixed with an external fixator. There was no instability in both joints after fixation when he was examined under anesthesia. The fractures united after 3 months and the patient had no residual instability of hip and knee. There was no clinical or radiological evidence of osteonecrosis in the hip joint after 6 months. At one-year follow-up, he had satisfactory functional outcome with almost normal range of motion at both joints. Ipsilateral hip and knee dislocations are rare injuries and more caution is needed for early diagnosis. A timely appropriate intervention can provide good functional outcome to the patient in this situation.