Abstract
1. A report is presented of the results of a trial to compare the effects of early and late weight-bearing in patients with a transcervical fracture of the femur treated by reduction of the fracture and internal fixation with a sliding nail-plate.
2. One hundred and twelve patients have been assessed clinically and radiologically three years after operation.
3. Retrospective analysis of factors that affect the outcome of treatment suggests that the two groups were fairly evenly balanced.
4. The results show that full weight-bearing two weeks after operation did not increase the incidence of failure of fixation or of non-union.
5. The higher incidence of superior segmental collapse in patients in whom weight-bearing was deferred for twelve weeks can be explained by the greater number of high fractures in this group and the greater number with a poor reduction.
