Open anterior hip dislocation in a young adult with exposed femoral head and no neurovascular damage.

ABSTRACT: Anterior hip dislocation is common in younger adults and is the result of severe, high energy trauma such as high-velocity motor vehicle accidents or falls from great heights. A similar mechanism of injury would cause a femur neck fracture in older patients. Of these, open anterior hip dislocations are extremely rare and are usually associated with other soft tissue and bony injuries. We report a case of an open anterior hip dislocation with normal neurovascular status in a third world setting.

KEY WORDS: trauma, open anterior, dislocation, hip, femoral head, osteonecrosis.