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Published August 26, 2021

Safe Surgical Dislocation for Femoral Head Fractures

Femoral head fractures are high-energy injuries often associated with posterior hip dislocation. Surgical treatment is recommended in cases of incongruent or unstable hip joint after closed reduction. Safe surgical dislocation has emerged as the approach of choice in these injuries. It provides circumferential exposure of the femoral head and acetabulum to address fractures and labral injuries without additional risk of osteonecrosis of the femoral head. Sound knowledge of the vascular supply to the femoral head, meticulous posterior soft-tissue dissection, and a precise osteotomy technique are imperative to avoid iatrogenic injury to the femoral head blood supply. In this surgical technique video, we explain the anatomic basis, key landmarks, and techniques in performing a safe surgical dislocation for a Pipkin type II fracture-dislocation.