Pseudarthrosis of the Hip

The wide variety of operative procedures devised to relieve the symptoms of mechanical and degenerative arthritis in the hip joint is an indication of the frequency and the complexity of the problem. Also, experience shows that no single procedure fulfills all the requirements. The measure of success that is achieved in dealing with these problems will reflect the surgeon's ability to be fully aware of the advantages and the drawbacks of all the surgical procedures and to choose the correct one to meet the needs of the individual patient. Two evident corollaries to this observation are that the indications (and the contraindications) of established and new procedures should be clearly indicated and that any surgeon who practices one procedure to the exclusion of all others can expect relatively limited success, unless he also limits the patients on whom he operates to those for whom the single procedure is applicable.