Associated Injuries

Abstract

It is not surprising that there is a considerable incidence of damage to the femoral head in view of the magnitude of the force necessary to produce a fracture of the acetabulum and the fact that it is the femoral head which transmits this force. At operation, we have had the opportunity of inspecting the articular surface and have noted the occurrence of femoral head lesions, recognising that most of the time only part of the head has been accessible to view, since we hesitate to reproduce a posterior dislocation, for instance, merely in order to inspect the head. The use of extensile approaches allows a complete view of the head much more regularly. The lesions can be considered under three headings: macroscopic, vascular, and microscopic or molecular; these can be associated.