Femoral Head Fractures

Surgical hip dislocation (SHD) reported excellent results in nontraumatic patients, providing full and safe exposure of the femoral head and the acetabulum. This technique can be a powerful tool in selected trauma cases, allowing unparalleled visualization for reduction and fixation of femoral head fractures and access to associated femoral neck and acetabular injuries. These fractures were historically approached using anterior or standard posterior approaches; however, limited exposure of the articular surface may compromise anatomical reduction and fixation. With the traditional Kocher Langenbeck approach (KL), the femoral head blood supply may be at increased risk. Encouraging results support the advantages of SHD in specific femoral head fracture patterns with a comparable risk of avascular necrosis (AVN) to the anterior approach. The purpose of this chapter is to provide a detailed and comprehensive analysis of this technique in traumatic femoral head injuries.