Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2001 May:(386):114-9.
doi: 10.1097/00003086-200105000-00015.

Long-term results of free vascularized fibular grafting for femoral head necrosis

Affiliations

Long-term results of free vascularized fibular grafting for femoral head necrosis

H Judet et al. Clin Orthop Relat Res. 2001 May.

Abstract

The current authors report on the long-term results of free vascularized fibula transplantation for the treatment of idiopathic femoral head necrosis. Briefly, the technique introduced by the authors in 1978 involves the excision of the necrosed bone and its replacement by autologous cancellous bone taken from the iliac crest. The contralateral fibula with its nutrient vessels is introduced through the head and neck of the femur and the vessels are anastomosed microsurgically to the anterior circumflex artery and vein. The current study assesses 60 patients (68 hips) operated on from 1978 to 1985 with an average followup of 18 years (range, 15-22 years). The overall results were good in 52% of the patients. In relation to the stage of necrosis according to the classification system of Marcus et al, good results were achieved in 80% of the patients with Stages II and III disease. In relation to patient age, good results were obtained in 80% of the patients operated on before the age of 40 years. The long-term results indicate that the method of free vascularized fibula transplantation used by the authors is a valuable method for the treatment of idiopathic osteonecrosis of the femoral head for patients younger than 40 years of age with Stage II or III necrosis.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

Cited by

LinkOut - more resources