Asymptomatic Chronic Dislocation of a Cemented Total Hip Prosthesis

Dislocation of a total hip prosthesis is a painful and mentally stressful orthopaedic emergency.1 It may be long-standing and asymptomatic, typically involving the femoral portion.2-4 This report describes a peculiar chronic dislocation of both components of a total hip prosthesis. A 93-year-old female patient, thin and of short stature, had come to our attention for recent onset of lumbar pain at the orthopaedic department. She walked with significant unequal lengths of the lower limbs. She had previously been operated on for bilateral total hip replacement, in which the left hip, a Brunelli version (Brescia, Italy, 1977), was performed 30 years ago for dysplasia.5 At Mellino Mellini Hospital Trust, Civil Hospital of Iseo (Brescia), Orthopaedics and Traumatology Department, Italy Georgia Regents University, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Augusta, Georgia, United States Clinical Institute “Humanitas”, Prosthetic Surgery Unit, Rozzano (Milano), Italy *