Subchondral insufficiency fracture of the femoral head after liver transplantation

A 53-year-old woman developed a subchondral insufficiency fracture of the right femoral head after undergoing a liver transplantation. Radiographs obtained at her first visit demonstrated a slight subchondral collapse in the superolateral portion of the femoral head. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) disclosed an irregular, discontinuous, low-intensity band on the T1-weighted image. After 7 months of conservative treatment, the hip pain and the radiograph abnormalities had both disappeared. On the follow-up T1-weighted MR image obtained 17 months after the onset, the band of low signal intensity was not obvious. A subchondral insufficiency fracture is one of the diagnoses to be considered in patients presenting with hip pain after a liver transplantation.