Palliative hip surgery in severe cerebral palsy: a systematic review

We performed a systematic review of the results of palliative hip surgery in severe cerebral palsy. Individuals with severe cerebral palsy frequently suffer from pain and other impairments because of dislocation or malformation of the hips. When preventive or reconstructive surgery fails, palliative intervention is performed. A number of salvage interventions have been described. We found articles on resection surgery of the femoral head, arthrodesis of the hip joint, and total hip replacement. The published literature does not clearly favor one procedure over the others. The resection arthroplasty technique developed by Castle is reported to yield the best results and fewer complications, and seems to eventually lead to a good outcome.