Abstract
Between 1997 and 2000, internal arthrodiastasis procedures (endo-apparatus), using an internal skeletal distraction device, were performed on 33 young patients who had reached the point of total hip arthroplasty or arthrodesis.
The mean age of the 20 males and 13 females was 19 years (range 11 to 51 years). We removed 19 implants, eight after completion of treatment or because they had outlived their usefulness, and 11 because no improvement in the hip disorder had been achieved.
Good results were achieved in two thirds of the patients, including patients suffering from avascular necrosis of the femoral head, old Perthes’ disease and contained hip dysplasia with joint space narrowing and pain. Chondrolysis and stiffness of the hip appear to be contraindications for this type of treatment. The three post-traumatic hip disorders were probably also not ideal cases.
In young patients, the results of total hip arthroplasty after trauma are poor, and the indications for internal arthrodiastasis should be redefined.
The abstracts were prepared by Professor M. B. E. Sweet. Correspondence should be addressed to him at The Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Medical School, University of Witwatersrand, 7 York Road, Parktown, Johannesburg, 2193 South Africa
