Obturator dislocation of the hip associated with ipsilateral quadrilateral plate fracture: A rare case report

Abstract

Traumatic hip dislocations typically result of high-energy trauma and frequently involve young patients. The obturator dislocation is not a common condition and rarely combined with acetabular fracture. We report a rare case of a 48-year-old male patient with a trauma of the left hip following a car-vs-car frontal accident. He presented with an obturator hip dislocation combined with ipsilateral quadrilateral plate fracture. The patient underwent a clinical and imaging evaluation to identify the acetabular fracture dislocation. The CT scan showed a severe dislocation of the acetabular medial wall. Closed reduction under conscious sedation was performed in Emergency Department. The patient underwent open reduction and internal fixation. During surgery, obturator nerve was entrapped inside the fracture rim and then it was released. No intra-operative complications were observed. The patient was followed, with accurate clinical and radiological follow up assessments for 24 months reporting excellent clinical outcomes according to Oxford Hip Score (47/48 points), a good hip range of motion and a complete recovery of basic activities of daily living. After two years of follow-up, no evidence of femoral head necrosis was reported and the patient returned to sport activity.

Keywords

• Obturator hip dislocation
• Acetabular fracture
• Quadrilateral plate
• Clinical outcome