Proximal femoral geometry: a radiological assessment

We aimed to analyze radiographically the relationship between the tip of the greater trochanter and the center of the femoral head. One hundred fifty randomly selected radiographs of patients due to undergo total hip arthroplasty were analyzed for the relationship between the center of the femoral head and the tip of the greater trochanter. We found that the center of the femoral head was 9.5 +/- 6 mm below (9 mm above to 24 mm below) the tip of the greater trochanter. Many techniques have been described to diminish the inadvertent limb lengthening during total hip arthroplasty. One of the commonly used methods has been alignment of the tip of the greater trochanter with the center of the femoral head. The aim of the article is to discourage the use of the tip of the greater trochanter as guide because it may lead to inadvertent limb lengthening.