Traumatic Hip Dislocations in Patients Younger Than 16 Years Old: A Single Center Experience with Mean Follow-Up of 10.4 Years.

Introduction: Traumatic hip dislocation in childhood is a rare injury. The aim of this study was to present the experience of a single center for traumatic hip dislocation in the pediatric and adolescent age group. Materials and
Methods: The orthopedic trauma database of a single center was retrospectively searched for patients who had sustained a traumatic hip dislocation between 2004 and 2019. Data related to age, mechanism of injury, additional fractures, presence of any open fracture or neurovascular injury, and dislocation side were retrieved from the patient files. Functional outcome was evaluated using the Harris Hip Scoring system.
Results: The mean age of 13 patients at the time of injury was 7.7 years and the mean follow-up time was 124.5 months (10.4 years). All traumatic hip dislocations were posterior dislocations. The mean Harris Hip score was 95.7 points (range 55-100 points) with 12 patients scored as excellent and 1 as poor results. Ten complications including limb length inequality, avascular necrosis and hip arthritis were determined in seven patients.
Conclusion: Traumatic hip dislocation is a rare injury in the pediatric age group. Early diagnosis and concentric reduction of the femoral head is essential for better functional results and to avoid complications. Limb length inequality is a frequently seen complication, which has not been reported in previous studies. © Indian Orthopaedics Association 2021.