Salvage operations for failure of previous surgery in congenital dislocation of the hip

Salvage operations for failure of previous surgery were performed on 27 children with 35 congenitally dislocated hips. In two children with rigid joints, surgery was limited to the correction of flexion contracture and of fixed pelvic obliquity. In all cases where the affected hip was mobile, concentric reduction and good coverage were obtained. In difficult cases, a combined operation including femoral shortening, open reduction, varization derotation, and a Chiari osteotomy gave satisfactory results.