title: THE IMPORTANCE OF THE DIAGNOSIS OF SUBCHONDRAL FRACTURE OF THE FEMORAL HEAD, HOW TO DIFFERENTIATE IT FROM AVASCULAR NECROSIS AND HOW TO TREAT IT.
abstract: Subchondral fracture of the femoral head is an uncommon and underdiagnosed affection. The abrupt or gradual onset of groin pain with functional disability on weight-bearing that improves with a resting period should alert the orthopedic surgeon to the possibility of this diagnosis. The differential diagnosis from osteonecrosis of the femoral head can be provided by assessing the different patterns of bone edema on MRI studies of the hip, thus avoiding unnecessary invasive operations on the hip.
authors.affiliation: School of Medical Sciences, Santa Casa de São Paulo (FCMSCSP), São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Giancarlo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Polesello
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology, School of Medical Sciences, Santa Casa de São Paulo (FCMSCSP), São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Denis Seguchi
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Sakai
authors.affiliation: School of Medical Sciences, Santa Casa de São Paulo (FCMSCSP), São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Nelson K
authors.initials: NK
authors.lastname: Ono
authors.affiliation: School of Medical Sciences, Santa Casa de São Paulo (FCMSCSP), São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Emerson K
authors.initials: EK
authors.lastname: Honda
authors.affiliation: School of Medical Sciences, Santa Casa de São Paulo (FCMSCSP), São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Rodrigo Pereira
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Guimaraes
authors.affiliation: Hip Group, Santa Casa de São Paulo (FCMSCSP), São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Walter Ricioli
authors.initials: WR
authors.lastname: Júnior
keywords: Femur head/abnormalities; Fractures, spontaneous/diagnosis; Hip fractures/radiography; Magnetic resonance imaging/methods; Osteonecrosis/diagnosis