Hip arthrodesis in young adults using a trochanteric osteotomy, osteosynthesis and bone graft

ABSTRACT

Seventeen consecutive patients, mean age 26.65, SEM +/- 1.86 [range 16-40 years] underwent hip arthrodesis with osteosynthesis and bone graft. The exposure to the hip joint and the acetabular side was facilitated by the trochanteric osteotomy. The greater trochanter was reattached to the Cobra plate so that hip abduction could be restored should the fusion ever be converted to an arthroplasty. Alignment of the lower limb at 25 degree flexion, neutral abduction and neutral rotation was assisted and maintained during the operation. Chiari's osteotomy was done in two cases and was not necessary in the other fifteen cases because the femoral head was already medialized by the original disease. No postoperative immobilization was required. All patients had radiographic evidence of union by eight months. AT a mean follow up interval of one year, all patients had significant improvement in pain, function and gait