Circulatory and vascular changes in the hip following innominate osteotomy: an experimental study

The circulatory and vascular changes in the hip following Salter-type innominate osteotomy were studied in 35 dogs to determine the effects of innominate osteotomy on the blood supply of the hip joint. Microangiography, bone scanning, and isotope clearance were employed four months after the innominate osteotomy. Microangiography showed increased vascularity at the osteotomy site, in the ipsilateral side acetabulum, and in the femoral head in 65% of the dogs. Bone scanning with 99mTc diphosphonate showed increased activity at the osteotomy site, in the acetabulum, and in the femoral head and neck in 75% of the dogs. The 99mTc diphosphonate clearance studies showed that the blood supply to the femoral head was increased by almost 30% after innominate osteotomy in 50% of the dogs studied. These observations indicate that innominate osteotomy could increase the vascularity and blood supply of the hip by increasing the collateral circulation in the process of healing of the osteotomy. The physiologic basis of the joint to innominate osteotomy constitutes a rational basis for recommending the operation for the treatment of selected cases of congenital hip dislocation, Legg-Perthes disease of the femoral head, and degenerative osteoarthritis of the hip with or without acetabular dysplasia.