Treatment of the late sequelae of septic arthritis of the hip.

Numerous salvage procedures have been proposed for the treatment of late sequelae of septic arthritis of the hip. Despite this, there are no reports in the literature discussing treatment with simultaneous hip reconstruction and femoral lengthening using the hybrid advanced Ilizarov method. The authors reviewed their experience with this technique, and present 15 patients treated between 1982 and 1997. The average age of the patients was 21.1 years and the average limb length discrepancy was 6.5 cm. All the hips were classified according to the classification of Choi et al. The time the external fixator was worn was 225.5 days and the average followup was 108 months. The results were classified based on pain relief, residual deformity, range of motion, Trendelenburg sign, and limb length discrepancy. Ten patients had a good or excellent result, three patients had a fair result, and only two patients had a poor result. Major complications included a common peroneal nerve palsy in one patient, loss of angulation of the proximal femoral osteotomy in two patients, and a mild knee subluxation in three patients all of whom responded to treatment. At the latest followup, 13 patients were satisfied with the treatment, all had returned to their previous occupations, and no patient had a total hip arthroplasty.