Left hip arthroplasty, wound drainage The examination is limited secondary to metallic susceptibility artifact relating to the patient's left total hip arthroplasty.There is a crescentic rim-enhancing fluid collection within the soft tissues along the greater trochanter posteriorly, anterior to the gluteus maximus muscle. This collection measures approximately 4 x 2 cm in the transverse dimension and approximately 3 cm in the craniocaudal dimension and appears to drain to the posterolateral skin surface. Although there is edema within the obturator externus and iliopsoas muscles extending into pelvis, we see no definite extension of this fluid collection itself into the joint space and we are not convinced of the presence of a joint effusion. We see minimal increased signal intensity on T2-weighted images within the greater trochanter with relative preservation of fat signal on T1 sequences. These findings may reflect osteitis but we see no definite imaging features of osteomyelitis. Osteoarthritis affects the right hip with degenerative disc disease and facet joint osteoarthritis of the lower lumbar spine.
1. Limited examination secondary metallic susceptibility artifact as a result of the left total hip arthroplasty.2. Draining fluid collection posterior to the greater trochanter with other findings described above.