Presentation
Septic hip arthroplasty. Ongoing pain, loosening and limited mobility.
Patient Data
There is a temporary left hip spacer in situ. There are dual pencil drains in situ. There are overlying surgical staples consistent with recent surgery. There are normal post-surgical soft tissue changes. There is a mixed-density appearance to the proximal femur representing a combination of sequestrum / sclerotic bone and cement. Involucrum is not excluded.
There is the fragmentation of the temporary cement spacer and internal metallic framework, with mild superolateral subluxation of the femoral shaft.
Case Discussion
An example of a temporary left hip cement spacer impregnated with gentamicin in a patient with septic left hip arthroplasty. There is a normal post-surgical appearance.
At the 6-week follow-up the the cement spacer is found to be fragmented and the patient confirms a history of a recent fall. The spacers cannot tolerate mechanical stress as much as a normal titanium prosthesis and are therefore prone to hardware failure as in this instance.
Unable to process the form. Check for errors and try again.