title: Greater trochanteric preserving hip arthroplasty in the treatment of infantile septic arthritis: long-term results.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Balanced forces around the hip joint are critical for normal development of the hip joint, so it should be considered in every hip reconstructive procedure.
  
  
  METHODS
  In seven children with complete destruction of the femoral head and neck due to septic arthritis, a reconstructive hip surgery was done to reconstruct the femoral head without sacrificing the greater trochanter and its muscles completely. The technique consists of a modified greater trochanter arthroplasty with only a medial portion of the greater trochanter and a varus femoral osteotomy.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The average age of the children at surgery was 17 months (range 8-36 months) and the patients were followed for an average of 16.6 years (range 10.9-20.1 years). The average number of second operative procedures for each patient was 2 (range 1-4). The follow-up evaluation for each patient included documentation of pain, hip range of motion, and assessment of gait. In addition, the current leg-length discrepancy, final coverage and stability of the hip joint were documented. At final evaluation, all patients had a pain-free stable hip and two patients had near-normal hip range of motion. All patients have had satisfactory surgery results.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  By this kind of hip reconstruction, we could provide a stable painless hip joint with special attention to the greater trochanter's role on hip biomechanics.
authors: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Taleghani Hospital, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors: Saeid
authors: S
authors: Abrishami
authors: Mohsen
authors: M
authors: Karami
authors: Amin
authors: A
authors: Karimi
authors: Amir Payman
authors: AP
authors: Soufali
authors: Hamid Reza
authors: HR
authors: Aslani
authors: Kamran
authors: K
authors: Badizadeh