Dr. Gavin Manson: A 65-year-old Armenian woman was admitted to the Massachusetts General Hospital 4 months after having sustained a fracture of her right hip. Initially, the fracture was treated at another hospital by closed reduction and fixation with the Smith-Petersen nail and a Thornton plate. Postoperatively, persistent pain developed in the groin and the lateral wound began to drain, continuing from the 11th to the 21st day, and then ceased.
The patient, however, continued to have pain in the hip. She was taught to walk on crutches with minimal weight bearing on the right leg, but was never comfortable doing this. An increase in pain, both in severity and duration, necessitated the use of large doses of medication for relief. The pain was located in the right groin and across the anterior and lateral aspect of the thigh down to the knee. The pain was still severe 3V2 months after operation. X-ray films were reported as showing