Chapter 8, Problem 6CCS

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 postreduction X 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.

6. Hip dislocations are classified as anterior or posterior depending on which direction the head of the femur is facing after it dislocates. Based on the description from question 5, which type of dislocation did Mrs. Tanner suffer?