Introduction:
Fractures-dislocations of the femoral head are rare, and irreducible dislocations are even rarer. The functional prognosis is poor.
Presentation of case:
We report the case of a 23-year-old male brought to the emergency room following low-energy trauma. X-rays and a computed tomography scan revealed a Pipkin II fracture-dislocation of the right femoral head. We attempted reduction with the patient under general anesthesia; this failed, so we proceeded to total hip arthroplasty (THA).
Discussion:
A femoral head fracture has a poor prognosis; the principal complications are osteonecrosis, osteoarthritis, and heterotopic ossifications. No surgical treatment algorithm for a femoral head fracture (for fragment excision, followed by internal fixation or THA) is available, given the rarity of the injury and the lack of sufficient cases.
Conclusions:
We describe the mechanism of low-energy injury, as well as the controversial THA treatment chosen by this young patient.