Bilateral traumatic dislocation of the hip: a case report

Abstract

A twenty-three-year-old male patient was transferred to the hospital two hours after an in-bus crash. Radiographs showed a right posterior hip dislocation with an acetabular rim fracture (Thompson and Epstein type II), and an anterior obturator dislocation of the left hip with a femoral head fracture (modified Epstein type IIB). Four hours after the accident, a bilateral closed reduction was performed with the use of the Bigelow maneuver. Computed tomography showed instability of the right hip and a displaced fragment of the posterosuperior acetabular rim; the left hip joint was reduced and there was a femoral head fracture measuring less than 6 mm. On the fifth day, the right acetabular rim fracture was treated with open reduction and internal fixation. At the end of a five-year follow-up, the clinical and radiologic results were found excellent and good, respectively, according to the Matta’s criteria.