We examined 59 cemented high density polyethylene sockets removed at revision hip arthroplasty. Of these 19 showed areas of wear between the outside of the socket and the acetabular bone. This was associated with lack of acrylic cement in those areas and was also related to the depth of the wear on the articulating surface of the socket. It is suggested that, in some cases, changes at the bone-cement junction are secondary to socket loosening and abrasion against the bone of the acetabulum, rather than to particles migrating from the metal-polyethylene interface. It is therefore important that impingement of the neck of the femoral stem on the edge of the cup be avoided and that, when the socket is inserted, it is not in direct contact with the bone

Between 1971 and 1991 we performed Charnley low-friction arthroplasty (LFA) on 116 patients (186 hips) with juvenile chronic arthritis (JCA). We have now carried out a survival study, taking endpoints as revision, death or the end of the year 1993. Overall survival was 91.9% at ten years and 83.0% at 15 years. That of the femoral component was 95.6% at ten years and 91.9% at 15 years and of the acetabulum 95.0% and 87.8%, respectively. Only the use of steroids significantly impaired the survival. We therefore recommend the use of Charnley LFA for young patients with JCA requiring total hip replacement

In this prospective study of 18 hips we compared the efficacy of ultrasound with CT in determining the position of the femoral head in a spica cast after closed or open reduction in children with developmental dysplasia of the hip. Ultrasound was performed through the perineal opening of the cast. With a transinguinal approach, the superior ramus of the pubis, the acetabulum, the femoral head and the femoral neck can be depicted in one plane. The CT and ultrasound images were blinded and reviewed by two of the authors. Ultrasound was inconclusive in the first two reductions since the perineal opening was too small to see all the landmarks in one plane. In the following 16 reductions the landmarks were well defined and interpretation of the CT and ultrasound was similar. The perineal opening in the spica cast should be made in such a way that the ultrasound probe can be positioned in the groin so that the landmarks can be shown in one plane

Premature fusion of the triradiate cartilage was obtained surgically in 10 three-week-old rabbits, and compared with isolated fusion of the ilio-ischial and of the ilio-pubic limbs of the triradiate cartilage in two further groups of 10 rabbits. Complete fusion caused acetabular dysplasia five weeks after operation in all animals and hip dislocation at nine weeks in half of them; ilio-ischial fusion had a comparable effect. Ilio-pubic fusion had only a minimal effect on acetabular development. The posterior position of the ilio-ischial limb in the acetabulum and its predominance in the formation of the triradiate cartilage in quadrupeds may have contributed to its decisive effect on acetabular development

1. The various surgical procedures in common use for the treatment of the osteoarthritic hip are briefly reviewed and compared with the operation of replacement of both the acetabulum and head of the femur by a metal prosthesis, that is, a complete artificial hip joint. 2. The development, description and technique of insertion of this artificial hip joint are given in detail. 3. The results of the first fifty cases of this operation show a success rate of over 90 per cent. The few failures are analysed in detail. The revision procedure has been the insertion of another artificial hip joint. 4. The essential details necessary for success are stressed and the indications and aims of the operation given

We reviewed the outcome, at a mean follow-up of 14 months, of 21 two-column fractures of the acetabulum treated by operation through one or two non-extensile approaches. Eighteen procedures resulted in reduction of the articular surfaces to within 3 mm. The blood loss and operating time when two combined non-extensile approaches were used were similar to those reported for extended acetabular approaches. The incidence of heterotopic ossification which limited joint motion was low, and the average Harris hip score was 81 points. The use of non-extensile approaches for acetabular fractures in which both columns are involved avoids iatrogenic injury to the abductors, and reduces the incidence of complications

Aims

Whether patient-reported pain differs among surgical approaches in total hip arthroplasty (THA) remains unclear. This study’s purposes were to determine differences in pain based on surgical approach (direct anterior (DA) vs posterolateral (PL)) and PL approach incision length.

We describe 25 patients who were treated for a tumour of the proximal femur by resection and replacement with an uncemented, bipolar, modular prosthesis. When followed up after more than ten years four prostheses (16%) had required revision. Two joints showed wear and another necrosis of the acetabulum. One patient with loosening of the stem had been treated by radiotherapy to the femur. Articular cartilage seemed to be a reliable barrier to acetabular wear. Very few signs of the formation of particulate debris were observed. The most obvious feature in the bone-stem relationship was stress shielding, seen as osteoporosis of the proximal part of the femur around the stem in 68%. Functional activity was satisfactory in 68% of the patients. A better system of reattachment of the soft tissues is needed to avoid pain and a persistent limp

We have compared the findings of MRI with those of hip arthroscopy in 23 hips in young adults with hip pain. Large deep cartilage deficiencies on the acetabulum or femoral head, the percentage of femoral head cover, and the presence of marginal osteophytes seen on MRI correlated well with those seen at arthroscopy, but chondral softening, fibrillation, or partial-thickness defects less than 1 cm in diameter were less consistently detected by MRI. Osteochondral loose bodies and labral tears were not well demonstrated by MRI, but were readily identified and treated at arthroscopy. Arthroscopy of the hip is a useful investigation for hip pain in young adults especially when standard non-invasive MRI fails to provide a clear diagnosis

Of a consecutive series of 117 one-year-old infants with 130 established dislocations of the hip, 11% failed to respond to primary surgical treatment. Genetic and iatrogenic factors accounted for half the failures. There were no obvious causes in the remainder, though a few had the superficial stigmata of spinal dysraphism, and by two years of age, most of the group had developed a lateral rotation posture of the affected leg associated with a relatively smaller foot on that side. Radiologically, the femoral head had drifted and rotated laterally out of the surgically deepened acetabulum, causing persistent subluxation. Although there was no clinical evidence of sensory or motor denervation, sensory spinal evoked potential tests revealed the presence of neurological deficits in the majority of patients in this group

This paper describes a new technique for greater trochanteric hip arthroplasty in which the femur is divided at the subtrochanteric level and the upper fragment rotated through 180 degrees to place the greater trochanter deeply in the acetabulum; with the lower limb in the weight-bearing position the fragments are then fixed with a short intramedullary nail. This operation was carried out in a boy aged 4 years 6 months in whom the femoral head and neck had been destroyed by septic arthritis. Ten years later leg-lengthening was performed. When reviewed at the age of 20, he had a stable hip, a satisfactory range of painless movement, and shortening of only 2.5 cm; he could walk and run for long distances with only a slight abductor lunch

1 . The results of transplanting the greater trochanter in 225 "low-friction" arthroplasties of the hip have been examined. 2. Non-union occurred in an average of 7 per cent of cases. 3. When non-union occurred the results still showed improvement. 4. Four different methods of fixation were used, of which that using two wires, crossed in the horizontal and coronal planes, never failed to secure union. 5. Transplantation of the greater trochanter to the best position is only possible if the neck of the femur is shortened or if the centre of motion of the arthroplasty is displaced medially by deepening the acetabulum, or by a combination of both. 6. In the best position the transplanted trochanter considerably improved active abduction against gravity

Based on the constancy with which the limbus is inverted into the joint in a typical congenital dislocation of the hip, a hypothesis is presented which suggests that the sequence of events leading to established dislocation is: 1) lateral rotation aided and abetted by anteversion; 2) extension of the hips causing subluxation; 3) dislocation and inversion of the limbus; 4) secondary changes in the upper end of the femur, pelvis and acetabulum which will also develop if the deformity does not progress beyond a subluxation. A pen picture is drawn showing how anteversion is either moulded away during growth to produce a normal hip, or persists with or without dislocation. The fate of the persistently inverted limbus is discussed and a line of treatment based on these findings is briefly considered

In acetabular dysplasia, fixation of the acetabular component of a cemented total hip prosthesis may be insecure and superolateral bone grafts are often used to augment the acetabular roof. We used finite element analysis to study the mechanical importance of the lateral acetabular roof and found that the lateral acetabular rim plays an important role in the load transfer of the pelvic bone. When the superlateral rim was lacking, the load shifted to the posterosuperior rim and to the area of pubic support, and the stresses in all materials, especially in the cement and in the trabecular bone, increased greatly. At the cement-bone interface the tilting component of the shear stress increased threefold. In a model in which the dysplastic acetabulum was augmented by a rigidly fixed, load-transmitting bone graft, the stresses were considerably diminished

We have followed up for a period of seven to nine years 100 consecutive arthroplasties of the hip in which an entirely HA-coated implant had been used. The clinical results were excellent and bony incorporation was extensive in all components. No stem became loose or subsided but five cups were revised because of loosening after 3.8 to 5.5 years, having functioned painlessly and shown radiological ingrowth. Revision procedures because of excessive polyethylene wear have been performed on 18 hips and are planned for six more. Two eroded metal backings with worn-through polyethylene were exchanged; six hips showed metallosis without polyethylene wear-through. There were two cases of granulomatous cysts in the groin and 66 hips had osteolysis located periarticularly, in the greater trochanter or in the acetabulum

Reorientation of the acetabulum may be required in adolescents and young adults with developmental dysplasia of the hip. We have carried out a retrospective review of 51 hips after triple osteotomy with an average follow-up of ten years (8 to 15). Forty-eight hips (94%) were available for review and of these 39 (81%) were improved compared with before operation, 29 (60%) scoring good or excellent. Radiographic assessment showed improvement of the average centre-edge angle by 19°, the acetabular index by 12° and the anterior centre-edge angle by 26°. The degree of osteoarthritis progressed by one grade in ten hips (21%) over a period of ten years. The satisfactory long-term clinical and radiographic results have encouraged us to continue this treatment for symptomatic acetabular dysplasia in these patients

The surgical treatment of Perthes’ disease by femoral or innominate osteotomy is not as effective in those over the age of eight years as it is in the younger child. This has prompted the search for other types of management in those who are older. The preliminary results of the use of a lateral shelf acetabuloplasty for such cases have shown encouraging results at two years. The concern with such an operation is that it might interfere with the growth of the outer aspect of the acetabulum and so prejudice the long-term outcome. We describe a review at maturity of 26 children presenting with early disease after the age of eight years who were treated by lateral shelf acetabuloplasty. The results suggest that the outcome is improved; 22 of 27 hips were rated as Stulberg groups 1 to 3. Poor results occurred in children, particularly girls, presenting with Group-4 disease over the age of 11 years

1. A technique of transarticular nailing for subcapital and transcervical fractures of the neck of the femur is described. 2. Forty-four operations have been done, and twenty-one patients have been under observation for periods of from one to six years. In one of these pseudarthrosis has developed; in two others there has been delayed union. 3. The method gives sound fixation by a "squeezing effect" on the proximal fragment, which is enhanced by the locking of the adjacent articulation. 4. It is presented as an alternative to prosthetic replacement for treatment of femoral neck fracture in the aged. The nail damages the articular surface of the acetabulum but not the femoral head. 5. The importance of care after operation is stressed. 6. The advantages of the method, the role of circulatory changes in the femoral head and the mechanics of transarticular fixation are discussed

We report retrospective and prospective studies to identify the causes of fracture of the femoral neck associated with femoral shaft nailing on the same side. Of a total of 14 neck fractures in a series of 152 shaft nailings, eight were not visible on the initial pelvic radiographs. We used CT scans before and after operation, and fluoroscopy during the procedure in our prospective series, and reviewed abdominal CT scans retrospectively with the window set to bone level. Six of the eight undisplaced fractures were shown to have been present before operation, but two were iatrogenic. We recommend the preoperative use of CT scans of the femoral neck in high-risk patients such as those with associated fractures of the acetabulum, the distal femur or the patella. Early diagnosis will allow better general management and early fixation of the neck fracture

We examined ten femoral veins with duplex ultrasound during total hip replacement to demonstrate the operative manoeuvres which cause venous obstruction and to assess prophylactic measures which may overcome it. Exposure of the acetabulum by distraction of the femur with a hook was less likely to occlude flow than retraction with bone levers. Adequate exposure of the femoral shaft by adduction, flexion and either internal or external rotation caused cessation of flow in all cases. In four cases an A-V Impulse System foot pump was activated during periods of stasis. In each case it overcame the obstruction and produced peak velocities which were twice that of the resting state. In five cases, towards the end of the procedure, debris was seen travelling proximally through the femoral vein