Revision rates after surgical treatment for femoral neck fractures: results of 2-year follow-up

Abstract

Background and objective: Intracapsular fractures of the femoral neck account for a major share of fractures in the elderly. Open reduction and internal fixation has been shown to have a higher rate of revision surgery than arthroplasty. The aim of this study was to assess and compare the rates of revision surgery performed after internal fixation and primary total hip arthroplasty.

Material and methods: Between 2004 and 2006, 681 intracapsular femoral neck fractures in 679 consecutive patients were treated with internal fixation or total hip arthroplasty at our institution. Revision surgery rates were evaluated at 1-, 3-, 6-, 12-, and 24-month follow-up.

Results: There was no significant difference in the ratio of internal fixation to total hip arthroplasty during 2004-2006 (P=0.31). The mean rate of total hip arthroplasty was 19.1% with a lower rate being among patients younger than 60 years. Revision surgery rates at the 2-year follow-up were higher in the internal fixation group compared with total hip arthroplasty group (28.9% vs. 7.0%, P<0.001). Patients who underwent internal fixation were at a 4-fold greater risk of having revision surgery at the 2-year follow-up than those who underwent total hip arthroplasty (odds ratio, 4.11; 95% CI, 1.95-8.65; P<0.001). Age was a significant risk factor for revision surgery after total hip arthroplasty (hazard ratio, 0.93; 95% CI, 0.87-0.98; P=0.02), but not significant after the internal fixation (P=0.86).

Conclusions: Higher revision surgery rates after internal fixation favors arthroplasty as a primary choice of treatment for the femoral neck fractures.