Skip to main content

1968TrevorD

 

Content



[i] Annotation

Fragments from the book: Trevor D. The place of the Hey Groves-Colonna operation in the treatment of congenital dislocation of the hip (1968). The author discusses E. Hey Groves's operation for reconstruction of the ligamentum capitis femoris (LCF) in the reduction of congenital hip dislocation. The text in Russian is available at the following link: 1968TrevorD.


Quote, pp. 241-243.

THE LATE PROFESSOR HEY GROVES, one-time Professor of Surgery in the University of Bristol, a Surgeon of the Bristol General Hospital, and a Vice-President of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, in his Bradshaw Lecture at the College (1926) stated of all the joints in the body the hip is perhaps the most important, and in regards to its ailments it is certainly the most difficult for treatment'. Further, he mentioned that ' to replace and retain the dislocated hip, to establish correct relations between an ill-formed femoral head and an equally ill-developed acetabulum is a true orthopaedic problem. These statements made in 1926 are still true to-day.

Hey Groves lamented that little had been done for children with congenital dislocation of the hip between the ages of four and 14; below four he considered that the then current practice of manipulative reduction followed by immobilization in a plaster of Paris spica for a sufficient length of time was adequate; subsequent studies have shown that this opinion was unduly optimistic. Above 14 he considered reconstruction of the dislocated hip was not possible, with which there is general agreement. But between four and 14 years of age he maintained that much could and should be done for these children, but only by operative means.

He outlined a surgical programme which was later published in the British Journal of Surgery (1926), and also in the Robert Jones Birthday Volume (1928). He recommended open replacement of the femoral head, and, if stable into a well-formed socket, then plaster of Paris immobilization for several months. If the femoral head could not be contained the acetabulum should be improved by a kind of shelf-operation or deepened sufficiently by reaming to receive the femoral head. Hey Groves found the latter manoeuvre produced stability, but as the femoral head, which had probably some areas of erosion and had poor articular cartilage, was placed in actual contact with the acetabulum, denuded of its articular cartilage with raw bleeding osseous walls, little wonder that complete stiffness occurred. Thereupon, he developed his procedure further by recommending that the acetabulum should be deepened as before, as this was the best method of producing stability, but that there should be some structure placed between the untouched femoral head and the raw surface of the acetabulum, namely the joint capsule which was lined on its inner surface by smooth synovial membrane. Hey Groves had observed a constriction of the capsule in children of this age-range who had been walking, namely the hour-glass; thus he advised that the joint capsule should be dissected from its surroundings right down proximally to the hour-glass, that is between the hour-glass and the acetabulum; there it should be divided and in doing so the ligamentum teres, if present, also inevitably divided. Accordingly, he recommended, in addition, such was his genius, that an artificial ligamentum should be constructed by using stout, strong, kangaroo tendinous filaments, attaching them to the capsule and then threading them through a hole in the floor of the deepened socket and bringing the tendinous fibres out of the pelvis over the brim of the pelvis; the femoral head covered by capsule was then reduced into the deepened socket and the tendinous kangaroo fibres were then securely sutured to the brim of the pelvis or to Poupart's ligament (Fig. la)-a most ingenious operation, but, alas, nothing more was written in the British surgical literature concerning this procedure! We do not know how often Hey Groves performed this operation, nor do we know what the end results were like.

But in 1932 Professor Paul Colonna described a very similar procedure as the result of his experience in 1929 when dealing with a boy of seven years suffering from bilateral congenital dislocation of the hip at Bellevue Hospital, New York. Open replacement of the right hip into a deepened socket was performed without any preliminary traction (Hey Groves insisted on adequate preliminary traction); the replacement was accomplished according to Colonna's words by 'main strength and awkwardness; the result was a completely stiff hip with X-ray evidence of fragmentation and traumatic osteo-arthritis. Whereupon, in the following year, when tackling the left hip, preliminary traction was used, the femoral head was placed in a deepened socket with the intervention of the capsule in exactly the manner, except for the ligamentum-teres reconstruction, as recommended by Hey Groves. Since then, Paul Colonna made several contributions in American surgical literature on the indication, the procedure and the end results of the operation. In other words, it was a British invention developed in America, hence my reason for naming the operation the Hey Groves-Colonna. Having paid due homage to the originators, I think that it is wiser to refer to it as Capsular Arthroplasty; incidentally, the only arthroplasty of the hip at present performed without the intervention of any foreign material.

Quote p. 250.

When dealing with a subluxation the procedure differs a little. To obtain sufficient capsule to cover the femoral head is a problem, and so the operation proceeds anteriorly and posteriorly as described, but from above it is most important to dissect into the acetabulum between it and the compressed, tough and usually smooth, soft tissue against which the femoral head has been articulating; it is taken along with the capsule which is thereby made adequate.

When the hour-glass is reached it is divided across, the ligamentum teres if present being divided at the sometime. The femurs now free from any acetabular attachments; the capsule is incised for a short distance extending from the hour-glass opening to allow inspection of the femoral head, notice being paid to the state of the articular cartilage, particularly as regards pitting or erosion and attention as to its size, shape and any deformity; and the presence of any adhesions between the capsule and the femoral head most likely to be encountered where previous hip operations have been performed. On occasion the capsule is exceedingly thick on its superior aspect, 1 centimeter or more in thickness, generally due to the response of stresses of weight bearing; it has to be pared down to about 3 millimeters, otherwise it becomes impossible to make a socket large enough to accommodate the femoral head with such a thick capsule. On the other hand the capsule may be scanty, and to cover the articular surface of the femoral head adequately flaps may have to be raised from the thickest part of such a capsule and sutured in rotation fashion. Before closure of the capsule it is possible to estimate within a wide margin the amount of anteversion of the femoral neck. The incision in the capsule is closed by interrupted sutures of chromic catgut, and this closure must be really secure and the femoral articular surface completely covered by capsule, which is lined on its inner surface by synovial membrane.

 


Fig. 1. (a) Diagram of operation proposed by the late Professor Hey Groves. (A) Raw bleeding surface of deepened socket at site of natural acetabulum. (B) Capsule covering femoral head. (C) Synovial membrane. (D) Reconstructed artificial ligamentum teres. (b) Method of applying skeletal traction. Kirschner wires are crossed to eliminate any side-slipping of the wires and stirrup-this method was suggested by Cyril Monty, M.D., F.R.C.S. Side-slipping can also be prevented by encasing the wires and stirrup in plaster of Paris. Note that the opposite hip has been immobilized in a plaster of Paris spica to stabilize the pelvis.


 


Trevor D. The place of the Hey Groves-Colonna operation in the treatment of congenital dislocation of the hip. Annals of The Royal College of Surgeons of England. 1968;43(5)241-58.  pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov


Ernest William Hey Grove first described the operation of reconstruction of the LCF for congenital hip dislocation in 1926 in The Lancet. The following year, the author published a more detailed article in the British Journal of Surgery.

The work is cited in the following publications: 


David Trevor, MSc, FRCS. Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon, Charing Cross Hospital; Consultant Surgeon, Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital.


ligamentum capitis femoris, ligamentum teres, ligament of head of femur, plastic surgery, reconstruction, congenital dislocation, pathology



NB! Fair practice / use: copied for the purposes of criticism, review, comment, research and private study in accordance with Copyright Laws of the US: 17 U.S.C. §107; Copyright Law of the EU: Dir. 2001/29/EC, art.5/3a,d; Copyright Law of the RU: ГК РФ ст.1274/1.1-2,7

                                                                   

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Human Children. Retelling of Chapter 5

  Short retelling of chapter 5 of the essay: Arkhipov S.V. Human Children: The Origins of Biblical Legends from a Physician's Perspective. Joensuu: Author's Edition, 2025. [In Russian]  Chapter 5.  ADAM AND EVE The Book of Genesis narrates the story of a tribe founded by Adam and Eve, described as the "mother of all living." From a genetic perspective, they are depicted as siblings, with an age difference of 18–25 years. According to the biblical epic, they formed humanity’s first family, sustaining themselves on pre-existing fruits and seeds. Their initial home was the "garden in Eden," located "in the east" relative to the narrator. The text identifies geographic markers for Eden’s location: lands like "Asshur," "Cush," and "Havilah," and rivers named "Pishon," "Gihon," "Hiddekel," and "Phrath." The narrator also notes the region’s economic value, mentioning "gold," ...

Australopithecus afarensis

  AUSTRALOPITHECUS AFARENSIS In 1735, Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778) placed humans as a species «Homo nosce te ipsum» in the order Anthropomorpha along with monkeys and sloths (1735LinneC). In a publication in 1758, the naturalist transferred humans to the order Primates (1758LinneC). Today, humans and chimpanzees are united in the tribe Hominini, as descended from a common ancestor (2001GrovesCP). It has been established that the chromosome that distinguishes humans from monkeys was formed before 4.5 Ma (2022PoszewieckaB_GambinA). The hominin subfamily Sahelanthropus tchadensis lived in the Republic of Chad (Central Africa) from 7.2±0.31 to 6.8±0.45 Ma (2008LebatardAE_BrunetM; 2012ReynoldsSC_GallagherA). Reconstruction of its musculoskeletal system showed that the creature could have been an upright bipedal primate (2005ZollikoferCP_BrunetM). Fossils of what is probably the first bipedal representative of the hominid family Orrorin tugenensis, lived 6.1-5.7 Ma and still retained adapta...

Great Compilation. Introduction

  English version of the article:  Архипов СВ. Книга Берешит как великая компиляция текстов и смыслов Второго переходного периода Египта: пилотная культурологическая, медицинская, археологическая и текстологическая экспертиза преданий против традиционной атрибуции. Введение.  О круглой связке бедра . 14.02.2026 .  The text in Russian is available at the following link:  2026АрхиповСВ .    The Book of Genesis as a Great Compilation of Texts and Meanings from the Second Intermediate Period of Egypt: A Pilot Culturological, Medical, Archaeological, and Textological Examination of the Legends versus Traditional Attribution . Introduction By Sergey V. Arkhipov, MD, PhD   CONTENT [i]   Abstract [ii]   Introduction [iii]   Content [iv]   External links [v]   Application [vi]   References [vii]   Application [i]   Abstract The Book of Genesis (Bereshith) was composed in Egypt during the 17th century BCE and reached ...

1775SabatierRB

Fragments from the book Sabatier RB. Traité complet d'anatomie… T.1 (1775). The author discusses the form, anatomy, injuries, and role of the ligamentum capitis femoris (LCF). An opinion is expressed about the reasons for the absence of LCF and a link to the corresponding source is provided. The text is prepared for machine translation using a service built into the blog from Google or your web browser. In some cases, we have added links to quotations about LCF available on our resource, as well as to publications posted on the Internet. Quote pp. 7-8 On ne trouve de ligaments logés au dedans des aticulations, que dans celle du fémur avec le grand os innominé, & dans celle du même os avec la rotule & avec le tibia. Celui qui est renfermé dans la premiere, est appellé ligament triangulaire du fémur, parce qu'il a la figure d’un triangle; & ceux qui se voient dans la seconde sont connus sous les noms de ligaments internes de la rotule, & de ligaments croisés, parc...

1816MeckelJF

    The author discusses the anatomy and function of the ligamentum capitis femoris (LCF), and also identifies one of the reasons for its damage. The translation was done in collaboration with ChatGPT 3.5.   Meckel JF. Handbuch der menschlichen Anatomie. Zweiter Band. Besondere Anatomie. Halle, Berlin: Buchhandlung des Hallischen Waisenhauses, 1816. [fragment] Quote p p . 3 65 -366 c. Runds band §. 948. Gerade vor dem Theile der Synovialhaut, welcher auf der Lücke unter dem brückenförmigen Theile der Knorpellippe liegt, entspringt ein, ungefähr einen Zoll langes, sehr länglichviereckiges Band, das runde Band des Oberschenkels (Ligamentum ossis femoris teres s. rotundum) welches, an beiden Enden etwas ausgebreitet, sich mit seis nem äußern an die Bertiefung im Kopfe des Oberschenkels beines heftet und zu noch größerer Befestigung deffelben beiträgt. Es besteht aus longitudinalen Fasern, welche sich an das obere un...

Tiktaalik roseae

  TIKTAALIK ROSEAE The first truly tetrapod animal (Limbed tetrapods) is recognized as the lobe-finned fish Tiktaalik roseae (clade Elpistostegalia), discovered in rocks aged about 375 Ma (2006DaeschlerEB_JenkinsJrFA; 2008ShubinN; 2017ShubinN). Discoveries in recent years have allowed us to place the taxa of early tetrapodomorphs in the following order: Tinirau, Eusthenopteron, Megalichthys, Panderichthys, Qikiqtania, Tiktaalik, Elpistostege, Parmastega, Ventastega, Acanthostega, Elginerpeton, Ymeria, Ichthyostega (2022StewartTA_ShubinNH). The closest ancestor of Tiktaalik roseae, the fragments of the skeleton of which are relatively well preserved, is Panderichthys. Reconstruction of the prehistoric fish Pandericthys Author Tyler Rhodes; original in the  wikipedia.org   collection (license CC BY-SA 3.0, no changes). The shape of the skeleton of the pectoral fin and shoulder girdle suggests that Panderichthys rhombolepis "walked" (2006AhlbergPE_ClackJA). At the very least...

1705PetitJL

  Fragments from the book Petit JL. L'Art de Guérir les Maladies des Os (1705,  first edition).  The author writes about anatomy, role, and damage of the ligamentum capitis femoris (LCF) in hip dislocation. The text is prepared for machine translation using a service built into the blog from Google or your web browser. Quote 1. Ch. VII. p. 64. … outre que l'articulation du bras n'a que des ligamens fort lâches, & n'est point assujettie par un ligament rond comme la cuisse, d'où vient qu'il fait toutes sortes de mouvemens avec vitesse. Quote 2. Ch. XII. p. 106. 4. Il y a un ligament rond qui s'oppose à la luxation. Ce ligament prend son origine de la tête du femur, & s'insere dans la cavité de l'ischion; à la verité il ne s'insere pas directement au fond de la cavité ny au milieu de la tête, ce qui fait qu'il ne peur pas s'opposer à toutes les especes de luxations, comme nous le ferons voir dans les differences. Quo...

Great Compilation. Chapter 1

     English version of the article:  Архипов СВ. Книга Берешит как великая компиляция текстов и смыслов Второго переходного периода Египта: пилотная культурологическая, медицинская, археологическая и текстологическая экспертиза преданий против традиционной атрибуции. Введение.  О круглой связке бедра . 14.02.2026 .  The text in Russian is available at the following link:  2026АрхиповСВ .    The Book of Genesis as a Great Compilation of Texts and Meanings from the Second Intermediate Period of Egypt: A Pilot Culturological, Medical, Archaeological, and Textological Examination of the Legends versus Traditional Attribution. Chapter 1 By Sergey V. Arkhipov, MD, PhD   CONTENT [i]   Abstract [ii]   Book of Genesis. Chapter 1 Analysis [iii]   Notes to Chapter 1 [iv]   AI Agent's Conclusion [v]   Content [vi]   External links [vii]   Application [i]   Abstract The Book of Genesis (Bereshith) was composed...

13c.Soligalich

   Soligalich , icon, Jacob wrestling with the angel ( 13 cent. ).   Depicting the circumstances and mechanism of the ligamentum capitis femoris (LCF) injury based on the description in the Book of Genesis: 25 And Ja cob wa s left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. 26 And when he saw that he could not pre vail against him, he struck against the hollow of his thigh ; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was put out of joint, as he was wrestling with him. … 33 Therefore do the children of Israel not eat the sinew which shrank, which is upon the hollow of the thigh, unto this day; because he struck against the hollow of Jacob's thigh on the sinew that shrank.  ( 1922LeeserI , Genesis (Bereshit) 32:25-26,33) More about the plot in our work:  Ninth month, eleventh day   ( 2024 АрхиповСВ. Девятый месяц, одиннадцатый день ).     Soligalich  – Jacob Wrestling with the Angel ( 13 cent. ); original in the  leonovval...

SURGERY

  SURGERY ( Osteotomy, arthroplasty, arthroscopy, ligamentoplasty... ) Inventions Method s  by Arkhipov S.V.   (subsection) Articles 1926HeyGrovesEH   The author proposes fixation of the femoral head by creating a LCF from the joint capsule during reduction of congenital hip dislocation.  1927HeyGrovesEH   The author  describes  fixation of the femoral head by creating a LCF from the joint capsule during reduction of congenital hip dislocation.  1968TrevorD  The author discusses E. Hey Groves's operation for reconstruction of the LCF in the reduction of congenital hip dislocation. 2021ArkhipovSV_SkvortsovDV   Ligamentum Teres and its Analog in the Hip Endoprosthesis–Necessary or Superfluous? A Systematic Review 2025ArkhipovSV. Why Acetabular Labrum Repair May Be Ineffective .  Article  (07.04.2025).  UNDERWATER  ROCK OF THE RECONSTRUCTIONS  What is the load on the  ligamentum capitis femoris ? The First...