Ipsilateral floating hip and knee, or floating lower limb – A rare case report

Abstract

Introduction: Ipsilateral floating hip and knee injuries at the same time are very rare injuries, occurring due to high velocity trauma. With a small number of such case reports, the treatment guidelines regarding surgical fixation are yet to be formulated. Case report: We report an interesting case of hip dislocation, comminuted acetabular fracture, intertrochanteric and shaft of femur fracture and both bones leg fracture ipsilaterally. Open reduction of hip, antegrade femoral nailing with recon nail and closed tibial nailing was done in a single setting. Acetabular fracture was treated non-operatively. Conclusion: Patient's general condition, co-morbid status, fracture pattern and the surgical expertise of the trauma team should guide the definitive treatment and its sequence. Early fixation of long bones is warranted and acetabular fixation can be done in second stage.

Keywords

• Floating hip
• Floating knee
• Polytrauma
• Hip dislocation
• Acetabular fracture