TREATMENT OF AVASCULAR NECROSIS OF THE FEMORAL-HEAD WITH INTERTROCHANTERIC OSTEOTOMY

Thirtynine patients who suffered a segmental ischemic necrosis of the hip, fifteen of which affected on both sides, were treated with osteotomy of the femur. The reexaminations were carried out after an average period of 6.6 (2.5-12) years. While in twenty one cases, the hip necrosis was treated exclusively by varisation, in thirty three cases a combination of varisation and flexion was effected. 12 patients (equivalent to 22.2%), all of them with a necrotic angle of more than 115 degrees, were provided with a total hip arthroplasty in the interval. The patients with a necrotic angle smaller than 115 degrees showed a definite alleviation of the pain symptoms, an increased hip flexibility and an improved locomotory pattern.