[Total hip replacement for congenital dislocation of the hip in elderly patients]

From 1986 to 1989, total hip replacement was performed on ten patients (twelve hips) with congenital dislocation of the hip. The average age of the patients was fifty-three years (ranging from forty-eight to sixty years), and the mean follow-up period was twenty-eight months (ranging from six to forty-eight months). Of the ten patients, eight had unilateral replacement and two had bilateral replacement, for a total of twelve arthroplasties. Eight arthroplasties were performed on the right and four on the left. Most patients left the hospital two to three weeks after operation. All the patients obtained satisfactory results. Only one patient developed late infection two years postoperatively. This patient occasionally used a cane for walking. The other patients had no hip pain, the motion of the hips was approximate to a normal person. No patient required a shoe-lift for limb-length discrepancy.