Alternative Names & Classifications:
Dislocated Hip (CLINICAL), Hip Dislocation (CLINICAL)
Description
A hip dislocation is a massive structural failure requiring extreme force, such as a high-speed car crash where the knee strikes the dashboard, driving the femur backward out of the pelvis. It is an orthopedic emergency because the displacement tears the surrounding blood vessels, threatening the blood supply to the bone and risking tissue death (avascular necrosis). The joint must be medically reduced as quickly as possible.