title: Core decompression of the osteonecrotic femoral head.
abstract: The results in 114 hips of ninety-two patients who had osteonecrosis of the femoral head were assessed after treatment with core decompression. The average duration of follow-up was three years and four months (range, two years to six years and six months). The average age of the patients was forty-one years (range, fifteen to sixty-seven years). The presumed risk factors were the use of corticosteroids (thirty-seven hips), excessive use of alcohol (thirty-two hips), trauma (seven hips), and various other factors (seven hips). No specific risk factor was identified for thirty-one hips, and the osteonecrosis was considered to be idiopathic. The preoperative evaluation consisted of clinical assessment, magnetic resonance imaging, and radiographic staging according to a modification of the system of Ficat. Thirty-two hips were in stage I; thirty-eight, in stage IIA; twenty-five, in stage IIB (transition stage, with a crescent sign); and nineteen, in stage III. Clinical failure was defined as the performance of a subsequent operation. Over-all, sixty-four hips (56 percent) failed clinically. Fifty-seven were treated with a hip replacement; four, with a femoral osteotomy; and three, with a vascularized fibular graft. Clinical failure was seen in five (16 percent) of the thirty-two hips in stage I, twenty (53 percent) of the thirty-eight hips in stage IIA, twenty (80 percent) of the twenty-five hips in stage IIB, and in all nineteen of the hips in stage III.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Carolinas Medical Center, Charlotte, North Carolina 28232, USA.
authors.forename: S W
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: T K
authors.initials: TK
authors.lastname: Fehring
authors.forename: W L
authors.initials: WL
authors.lastname: Griffin
authors.forename: W B
authors.initials: WB
authors.lastname: Beaver
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000150:complications; D001706:Biopsy / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D005271:Femur Head Necrosis / Q000145:classification / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D013256:Steroids / Q000009:adverse effects
chemical_list: D013256:Steroids