The peritrochanteric fracture remains one of the most common and potentially devastating
injuries in the geriatric population. The goal of treatment is early ambulation to prevent the
complications such as pressure sore, pneumonia, deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism
and long time hospitalization by open reduction and internal fixation or closed reduction and
internal rotation. In femoral neck fracture, many surgeons agree on the bipolar hemiarthroplasty
but there is controversy about that treatment in intertrochanteric fracture. We have tried to assess
the clinical outcome of bipolar hemiarthroplasty for the intertrochanteric fracture as compared
with femoral neck fracture in old age. Ninty-five bipolar hemiarthroplasties were performed at
our hospital, between January 1991 and February 1996. We selected 65 patients who had been
followed for at least one year. Forty of sixty-five patients had femoral neck fractures and
twenty-five of them intertrochanteric fractures.
The results were as follows:
1. Regardless of using the cement, the partial weight bearing ambulation time after operation
was 10.3 days in femoral neck fracture, 19.5 days in intertrichanteric fracture.
2. At one year follow-up the average Modified Harris Hip Score was 88.9 in femoral neck
fracture, and 87.5 in intertrochanteric fracture.
3. Postoperative complications in case of femoral neck fracture included thigh pain in 4
patients, heterotopic ossification in 1, intraoperative fractures of the femoral shaft in 2, leg
length inequality in 1 and dislocations after bipolar hemiarthroplasties in 3. And those in
case of intertrochanteric fractures were thigh pain in 2 patients, heterotopic ossifications in
2, intraoperative fractures of the femoral shaft in 2 and dislocation after bipolar
hemiarthroplasty in 1 .
4. There were no statistically significant differences in the clinical functional score and
complications between intertrochanteric and femoral neck fracture groups, therefore bipolar
hemiarthroplasty can be recommended as one of the treatment of intertrochanteric fracture
as well as femoral neck fracture in the elderly patient.