[Rotator cuff tear of the hip].

We report the observations of two women with a recurrent periarthritis of the hip complicated by a spontaneous rupture of the tendons of the gluteus medius and minimus. These patients usually complain from an acute lateral hip pain and show a Trendelenburg gait. When the rupture is complete, clinical evaluation reveals a drop of the pelvis on the non-stance side and resisted rotation starting from the extreme external rotation position is weak. MRI plays a key role in the diagnosis and the evaluation of a possible surgical repair. Hip rotator-cuff rupture is probably insufficiently diagnosed by ignorance. Nonetheless, optimized handling could relieve the pain of most these patients and improve the disability of some of them.