The Periacetabular Osteotomy

The results of 123 periacetabular osteotomies in 115 patients were reviewed at an average clinical followup of 4.3 years. The average age of the patients at the time of the operation was 32.9 years. The preoperative diagnosis was congenital dysplasia in 101 hips, Legg-Calve-Perthes disease in 10 hips, Charcot Marie Tooth disease in four hips, epiphyseal dysplasia in three hips, congenital coxa vara in two hips, slipped capital femoral epiphysis in one hip, and posttraumatic and postinfectious dysplasia in one hip each. The ilioinguinal approach was used in 67 hips and the modified Smith-Petersen approach was used in 56 hips. A periacetabular osteotomy was combined with an intertrochanteric osteotomy and/or trochanteric transfer in 32 hips. Ten hips underwent open reduction and internal fixation of an acetabular rim fracture and 18 arthrotomies were performed at the time of periacetabular osteotomy. The average Harris hip score increased from 65 points preoperatively to 89 points at latest followup. The average Merle d'Aubigne score increased from 13.6 points preoperatively to 16.3 points at latest followup. Overall, 83% of the hips were rated clinically as good to excellent. Seven hips have undergone total hip arthroplasty and six subsequent intertrochanteric osteotomies were performed. The majority of the major complications occurred when the osteotomy was performed through the ilioinguinal approach. The latest followup radiographic severity of osteoarthrosis, according to the criteria of Tönnis, improved or was unchanged in 117 hips (95%), and progressed in only six hips (5%). The majority of the hips with preoperative changes in the periarticular bone showed some evidence of regeneration, which was shown by a decrease in the subchondral sclerosis, disappearance of cysts, or healing of an acetabular rim fracture. The short term results of the periacetabular osteotomy are encouraging from the standpoint of improvements in clinical scores and in the appearance of the joint.