Treatment of avascular necrosis of the femoral head by a combination of bone grafting, decompression, and electrical stimulation.

The goal in the treatment of avascular necrosis is to preserve, not replace, the femoral head. Although many methods have been proposed, none has proved completely satisfactory. Electrical stimulation as a supplement to bone grafting and decompression is an attractive approach to this problem because it combines the desirable features of other procedures, each of which has shown a certain degree of effectiveness in stimulating bone growth and repair. Preliminary results indicate that patients treated with decompression and grafting alone and those in whom electrical stimulation was added to these had better results than patients treated by "conservative" means. The effectiveness of the electrical stimulation itself, however, has not yet been established and remains an important area for investigation. Further improvements in delivery systems and techniques are required to develop better methods for the treatment of avascular necrosis.