Pelvic remodeling after Salter osteotomy.

Salter innominate osteotomy is a widely used operative procedure to redirect the acetabulum in cases of acetabular dysplasia. The effectiveness of this redirection is indicated by the change in the appearance of the obturator foramen after the procedure. This is usually accompanied by an increase in the center edge (CE) angle with an effective decrease in the forces transmitted across the hip joint. In a prospective study of 20 Salter innominate osteotomies performed on two different age groups, one mature and one immature, we studied the change in the deformity of the obturator foramen with time after this procedure. In the immature pelvis, the asymmetric appearance of the obturator foramen remodeled gradually during the 6 months after the procedure. However, in the mature patient, no such remodeling potential was demonstrable during the study period. This finding has clinical implications regarding the advice for performing Salter innominate osteotomies in mature and immature patients.