Chapter 8, Problem 3CCS

45-Year-Old Female with Dislocated Hip

In the previous chapter, you met Kayla Tanner, a 45-year-old mother of four who suffered a dislocated right hip in a car accident. Prior to the closed reduction, the doctors noted that her right thigh was flexed at the hip, adducted, and medially rotated. A widened joint space in the postreductionX ray showed that the reduction was not complete, but no bone fragments were visible in the joint space. Mrs. Tanner was scheduled for immediate surgery.

The surgeons discovered that the acetabular labrum had detached from the rim of the acetabulum and was lying deep within the joint space. The detached portion of the labrum was excised, and the hip was surgically reduced. During the early healing phase (first two weeks), Mrs. Tanner was kept in traction with the thigh abducted.

3. There were no bone fragments in the joint space. What is normally found in this space?