We evaluated the results in fifty-three patients who had had a
successful hip arthrodesis at least twenty years (average, thirty-eight
years) prior to the study and who had been less than thirty-five years old
at the time of operation. We determined the functional history of each
patient and the current status of the opposite hip, the knees, and the
back. Radiographs were made and each joint was rated according to standard
clinical scales. Seventy-eight per cent of the patients were satisfied with
the arthrodesis, and all were able to work. Fifty-seven per cent had some
low-back pain and 45 per cent, some knee discomfort. Only seven patients
(13 per cent) had had a total hip arthroplasty on the arthrodesed hip.