Hip Osteotomy

The term hip osteotomy may be used to refer to several different surgical procedures that involve either of the two bones that form the hip joint: the pelvis and the femur (thighbone).

The hip is a ball-and-socket joint. The ball, at the top of the femur is called the femoral head. The socket, called the acetabulum, is a part of the pelvis. The ball moves in the socket, allowing the leg to rotate and move forward, backward and sideways. Deformities or improper orientation of either the pelvis or the femur can disrupt this freedom of movement and damage the bones and/or soft tissues of the joint.

In a hip osteotomy, a section of either the pelvis or the femur (or, in rare cases, both) is cut, realigned and fixed into a proper, functional position.

The two conditions most frequently treated by a hip osteotomy are:

• hip dysplasia
• hip impingement

The two types of hip osteotomies most commonly peformed at HSS are:

• femoral osteotomy
• periacetabular osteotomy

Read the articles below to learn more about these procedures.