Nearly 5 per cent of 728 hips showed separation and migration of the
trochanteric fragment after total hip replacement using the
transtrochanteric approach and a cruciate two-wire technique of
reattachment. In the 728 consecutive hips, thirty-five trochanters showed
separation and eighteen patients had a positive Trendelenburg test. The
abductor weakness was correlated with the amount of separation especially
if it exceeded two centimeters. Trochanteric separation was attributed to
osteoporosis or poor technique in all but two hips, and trauma was
implicated in one.