[Osteonecrosis of the femoral condyles in adults. Apropos of 30 personal cases].

On the basis of a series of 30 personal cases, the authors describe the circumstances in which osteonecrosis of the femoral condyles occurs, the clinical and radiological characteristics, the evolution of the disease, and some of the associated therapeutic problems. They emphasize particularly the difference between the primary forms, which are the prerogative of women over 50 years of age and are of a limited character, and the secondary forms that are essentially linked to prolonged corticotherapy. The secondary forms are found in persons of both sexes between the ages of 20 and 40 years and consist of diffuse lesions (frequent extensive epiphyseal reorganization, bilaterality, and associations with other sites). As the evolution of the disorder under simple medical treatment is usually fairly favourable, the authors consider that indications for surgery should be restricted to the infrequent forms (10 to 15% of cases) that progress rapidly towards arthrosis.