Results on total hip arthroplasties with femoral shortening for Crowe's group IV dislocated hips.

We performed total hip arthroplasties in 11 women with Crowe's group IV completely dislocated hips, with a mean age at surgery of 59.6 years and a mean follow-up of 65 months. In all cases, femoral shortening was achieved using step-cut osteotomy. All acetabular cups were placed in their anatomical locations. The mean Merle d'Aubigne hip score improved from 10.9 points to 16.9. There was no case of nonunion or malunion in the osteotomized site. Temporary numbness was observed in 2 hips, which subsided within 3 weeks without any treatment. One hip had to be revised 8 years after surgery because of aseptic loosening of the stem. Our study shows that total hip arthroplasty, incorporating step-cut femoral shortening, provides acceptable results for completely dislocated hip.