Hip Unit
Established alongside the creation of the Department of Locomotor System Pathology and Sports Medicine.
What is avascular necrosis of the femoral head?
It is a condition typically seen in individuals between the ages of 40 and 50, where a sudden and intense pain occurs in the hip that does not subside with rest and may even wake the person up at night. This is a clear indication that the femoral head is not receiving enough blood supply.
Treatment of avascular necrosis of the femoral head
In the early stages:
There are less invasive surgeries, such as the forage or decompression of the area lacking blood flow. These surgeries are performed using minimally invasive techniques or even percutaneous methods. Bioengineering substances, such as tricalcium phosphate derivatives, can be applied to these procedures. These materials provide good resistance to compression and act as scaffolds through which cells from the body capable of new bone formation and stem cells from other locations can penetrate. These processes lead to healing in a high percentage of cases. (See below for images of our minimally invasive technique for treating early-stage avascular necrosis.)
Another option is the introduction of a bone fragment (iliac crest-fibula with its nutrient artery via microsurgery). Although these are long surgeries, the application of vascularized bone grafts, such as from the iliac crest, fibula, or rib, provides an acceptable success rate.
Advanced stages:
In advanced stages, the femoral head collapses and rapid wear occurs because it has lost its spherical shape. In this case, we must resort to arthroplasty techniques with very good success, as explained in the sections on hip osteoarthritis in young adults and osteoarthritis in the elderly. (See radiographs, MRI, and a case treated with surface prosthesis in a young adult with advanced stages of avascular necrosis of the femoral head.)
