Treatment of the Bullet, Traversing Femoral Neck, Lodged in Hip Joint: Initial Arthroscopic Removal and Subsequent Cartilage Repair.
BACKGROUND
There have been several reports on arthroscopically assisted removal of the bullet imbedded in hip joint in the literature. Similarly, in this case, a bullet lodged in acetabulum was extracted with arthroscopic technique. What makes this case unique in the literature is that the bullet removed from the acetabulum traversed the femoral neck.


METHODS
Male patient aged 32 years with a low-velocity gunshot wound was referred to the emergency room on August 28, 2012. The projectile was lodged in acetabular side of the hip joint transversing through the femoral neck. A hip arthroscopy was performed for bullet removal. Two years after surgery, the patient had groin pain and underwent a safe dislocation for femoral chondral injury. In the last follow-up in the second post-operative year, the patient had no clinical complaint.


CONCLUSIONS
Hip arthroscopy is a minimally invasive and proper procedure for removal of foreign materials such as a bullet in the hip joint. Arthrotomy can be reserved for further complications such as chondral injury as in this case.
Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Diskapi Training and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.
Mehmet Faruk
MF
Çatma
Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Diskapi Training and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.
Serhan
S
Ünlü
Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Diskapi Training and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.
Önder
Ö
Ersan
Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Diskapi Training and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.
Alper
A
Öztürk
Hip joint arthroscopy; safe surgical dislocation; wound