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A new classification is proposed for post-reduction necrosis of the femoral epiphysis based on retrospective analysis of 54 cases with a mean follow-up of 15 years. Necrosis can be divided under two main headings:A) partial, involving only the epiphysisB) total, involving the metaphyseal cartilage.Four total forms have been identified:B1: eventually resulting in coxa valgaB2: eventually resulting in a short stubby neck, oval head and coxa magnaB3: eventually resulting in coxa vara and severe acetabular dysplasiaB4: eventually resulting in hypoplasia of the whole hip joint.This classification system comprises all the aspects of necrosis, while at the same time providing guidelines for treatment and long-term planning.

In CHD (Congenital Hip Dislocation), the elements which determine the degree and quality of acetabular growth are not clear. This has caused a great deal of controversy on the capability of development of the cotyloid cavity, hence on the indications to reconstructive surgical treatment. In order to study the behavior of che cotyloid cavity, two groups of patients were taken into consideration: normal subjects and subjects with CHD. In normal subjects the median value of the Hingelreiner angle was 19°–4'± 1° (normal limit), at 1 year old. The acetabular index decreases rapidly until becoming stable at adult values at the age of 8-10 years of age. The distinctive characteristics of the hip with spontaneous recovery from cotyloid dysplasia could be defined as follows: a) the higher critical value on average is reached after 24 months of treatment; b) once the borderline is reached, the dislocated hip evolves in the same way as the healthy hip; c) the earlier treatment is started, the sooner correction of the H angle is obtained; d) the cotyloid cavity continues to develop even after 5 years from reduction. In CHD with terminal residual dysplasia, an initial correction of the H angle is followed by a sudden interruption in acetabular development, which remains inadequate and will never reach normal values. These data allow not only the definition of the acetabular growth potential, but also the establishment of more precise indications for reconstructive surgical treatment.

In this first, introductory study we established the parameters with which to develop an in-depth study of the mechanical interpretation of roentgenographic images of osteoarthritic hips. Our choice of parameters, and in fact our whole approach, parted from the theories of morphobiomechanics advanced by Pauwels and by Bombelli

The aim of this study was to define the characteristics of the diseased hip through a series of roentgenographic parameters measured on X-rays taken from a group of patients suffering from primary osteoarthritis. The arthritic hips were divided into three groups: superolateral OA, concentric OA, and medial OA. In light of the anatomo-roentgenographic characteristics this study proposes a new classification of osteoarthritis based on the direction of migration of the femoral head. Analysis of the data has highlighted the extreme polymorphism which characterizes the course and evolution of osteoarthritis and the serious modifications brought about in the hip-joint region. The clinical impression at the conclusion of this study is of a direct correlation between primary alterations of parameters of the hip and development of osteoarthritis.

The aim of this study was to establish the point at which a hip is at risk of developing osteoarthritis and the percentage of hips which run such a risk. 253 hips of 164 adults (average age 43) suffering from pathologies not involving the coxofemoral joint were examined. The most important data were: The WBS presented a greater obliquity than the medio-normal; the S. S. surface was narrower; all parameters presented considerable standard deviation. A hip was considered “at risk” when at least two parameters were outside the “normal” limits established in our previous study.

With the aim of defining the roentgenographic characteristics of a “normal” hip - meaning an articulation able to fully respond to static and dynamic stress without wear, we examined 60 hips of people over 70 years old from a population of Southern Italy. The parameters considered were: width of WBS, inclination of WBS, height of Gothic Arch, width of Gothic Arch, angle of aperture of Gothic Arch, a angle of Gothic Arch, diameter of femoral head, CE angle of Wiberg, neck-shaft angle, offset, angle of aperture of spherichal sector (SS), surface area of SS, volume of SS, radius of the spherical bowl, height of the spherical bowl, distance from the “tear drop” image of the fundus acetabuli. The main findings are: a) the WBS is horizontal; b) the gothic arch is orthogonal to the WBS; c) the spherical sector presents wide individual oscillations; d) the female hip has specific characteristics, being mainly smaller.

It is the first time that a case of simultaneous and bilateral avulsion of the iliac spines is described in the international orthopaedic literature. The X-ray diagnosis was made by means of traditional techniques and tridimensional CT.