Surgical dislocation of the adult hip

Description: Surgical dislocation of the hip is rarely undertaken. The potential danger to the vascularity of the femoral head has been emphasised, but there is little information as to how this danger can be avoided. We describe a technique for operative dislocation of the hip, based on detailed anatomical studies of the blood supply. It combines aspects of approaches which have been reported previously and consists of an anterior dislocation through a posterior approach with a 'trochanteric flip' osteotomy. The external rotator muscles are not divided and the medial femoral circumflex artery is protected by the intact obturator externus.
Surgical dislocation of the adult hip a technique with full access to the femoral head and acetabulum without the risk of avascular necrosis. Ganz R, Gill TJ, Gautier E, Ganz K, Krügel N, Berlemann U. J Bone Joint Surg Br. 2001 Nov;83(8):1119-24. Full text