Thirty-two dysplastic hips with secondary osteoarthritis, in 28 patients aged 18 to 42 years, were treated by combined intertrochanteric and Chiari osteotomy. They were followed up for 2.5 to 10 years. Pain was the main presenting symptom in all the patients. The indication for surgery was based on the severity of disease with respect to congruency, secondary degenerative change and degree of dysplasia. The average pre-operative Harris hip score was 47.7 and the majority had severe dysplasia with degenerative changes. On final review the average score was 88. The radiographic appearances of degenerative arthritis regressed in 72% of hips and dysplasia was improved in all cases. The results of this conservative form of surgery are better in hips with less severe dysplasia and mild secondary degenerative change.

We present a new method of trochanter stabilisation designed for use in difficult revision hip arthroplasties. A fixator is secured to the metaphysis of the femur, and its two malleable prongs encompass the trochanter fragment and stabilise it using the tension band principle. The fixator is versatile, simple to apply and has better mechanical properties than any technique using wires. We reviewed 49 revisions after a mean follow-up of 40 months. Patients had been mobilised early, but there were no detachments or displacements from the initial postoperative position. Although 31% of patients were osteoporotic and 16% had poor trochanter fragments, there was bony union in 46 of the 49 hips, the remaining three developing stable fibrous union.