Abstract
Treatment of displaced intracapsular fracture of the hip by hemiarthroplasty in old patients is generally satisfactory.
Middlemore Hospital’s agreed criteria for hemiarthroplasty were reviewed and tested.
Two hundred and thirty three patients who had hemiarthroplasty for displaced intracapsular fracture neck of femur between June 199- June 2001. All the patients’ data collected from the hospital computer system and then a search started for these patients to review their current status regarding pain and mobility.
Ninety nine patients (42%) were still alive, of them 13 demented, 13 moved or lost and 7 in a wheel chair.
Sixty six patients reviewed for pain and mobility using Sikorski and Barrington scoring criteria for pain and mobility.
Thirteen patients had painful hemiarthroplasty. Clinical notes of the most active group of these patients (7 patients) reviewed individually to identify the causes.
Two patients had revision to total hip joint replacement within 3 months because of technical errors and two patients placed on the waiting list for revision. The rest had deterioration in their general health that made total hip arthroplasty a risky operation for them.
The revision rate was 1.7 %. We concluded that hemiarthroplasty was an acceptable option for these patients. The selection criteria were correct in 98.2% of the cases. Patients who live in their own home will need a careful assessment before deciding on a hemiarthroplasty for them.
The abstracts were prepared by Jean-Claude Theis. Correspondence should be addressed to him at Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Dunedin Hospital, Private Bag 1921, Dunedin, New Zealand.
