Septic dislocation of the hip after internal fixation of trochanteric fractures

Infection of the hip joint is described in three patients after nail-plate fixation of trochanteric fractures. This led to subluxation of the joint in one case and to dislocation in the other two. None of the patients walked again. Attention is drawn to the difficulty in diagnosis and the poor prognosis of this uncommon complication of operating for hip fracture.