Management and radiographic outcomes of femoral head fractures

Background Femoral head fractures are uncommon injuries. Small series constitute the majority of the available literature. Surgical approach and fracture management is variable. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the incidence, method of treatment, and outcomes of consecutive femoral head fra...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of orthopaedics and traumatology 2017-09, Vol.18 (3), p.235-241
Main Authors: Scolaro, John A., Marecek, Geoffrey, Firoozabadi, Reza, Krieg, James C., Routt, Milton Lee “Chip”
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Arthritis
Arthroplasty (hip)
Avascular necrosis
Biomedical materials
Catastrophic failure analysis
Conservative Orthopedics
Femur
Fixation
Fractures
Fragmentation
Head injuries
Hip
Hip joint
Incidence
Injuries
Joint surgery
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Original
Original Article
Orthopedics
Ossification (ectopic)
Patients
Radiographs
Radiography
Rheumatology
Screws
Sports Medicine
Surgery
Surgical implants
Surgical Orthopedics
Trauma
Traumatic Surgery
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Summary:Background Femoral head fractures are uncommon injuries. Small series constitute the majority of the available literature. Surgical approach and fracture management is variable. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the incidence, method of treatment, and outcomes of consecutive femoral head fractures at a regional academic Level I trauma center. Materials and methods A retrospective review of a prospective database was performed over a 13-year period. All AO/OTA 31C femoral head fractures were identified. A surgical approach and fixation method was recorded. Clinical and radiographic evaluation was performed for patients with 6 months or greater follow-up. Radiographs were evaluated for fixation failure, heterotopic ossification (HO), avascular necrosis (AVN) and post-traumatic arthritis. Results We identified 164 fractures in 163 patients; 147 fractures were available for review. Treatment was operative reduction and internal fixation (ORIF) in 78 (53.1%), fragment excision in 37 (25.1%) and non-operative in 28 (19%). An anterior approach and mini-fragment screws were used in the majority of patients treated with fixation. Sixty-nine fractures had follow-up greater than 6 months. Sixty-two fractures (89.9%) proceeded to uneventful union. All Pipkin III fractures failed operative fixation. Six patients developed AVN, seven patients had a known conversion to hip arthroplasty; HO developed in 28 (40.6%) patients and rarely required excision. Conclusions Fractures of the femoral head are rare. An anterior approach can be used for fragment excision or fixation using mini-fragment screws. Pipkin III fractures represent catastrophic injuries. Non-bridging, asymptomatic HO is common. AVN and posttraumatic degenerative disease of the hip occur but are uncommon. Level of evidence IV—prognostic.
ISSN:1590-9921
1590-9999
DOI:10.1007/s10195-017-0445-z