Open reduction of late unreduced traumatic posterior hip dislocation in 12 children

We present 12 children with late unreduced traumatic posterior dislocation of the hip. All had posterior dislocation and no associated fracture. The dislocation had remained unreduced for a mean period of 20 (6-52) weeks. Open reduction was done in all cases, since none of the hips could be reduced with upper tibial skeletal traction in abduction. All the hips showed varying degrees of avascular necrosis, with preservation of joint space on roentgenograms. 11 children had an excellent outcome, according to the criteria of Garrett et al. (1979), after a follow-up of mean 26 (24-36) months. We suggest that open reduction is a satisfactory treatment for hip dislocation of any duration in children.