Abstract
Introduction: Peri-prosthetic fractures following hip resurfacing arthroplasty are difficult fractures to treat. The surgeon is faced with the task of either attempting to fix the fracture if feasible or revise the resurfacing implant to a conventional total hip replacement.
Method & Results: Here we report of a novel way of fixing a peri-prosthetic fracture following resurfacing hip arthroplasty using Polyaxial locking plate fixation. A 53 year old man sustained a intertrochanteric fracture below his resurfacing metal on metal hip prosthesis following a fall. He had his hip resurfaced 3 years back for osteoarthritis in another hospital. He underwent surgery to fix the fracture using a polyaxial locking plate with no post-operative complications. He was mobilised non-weight bearing for the initial six weeks and weight bearing as tolerated thereafter. He went on to union and was moblising without any problems in three months time. His follow-up x-rays at 8 months showed fracture healed with no evidence of prosthesis problems.
Discussion: There are various methods of treating a periprosthetic fracture of a well fixed resurfaced hip implant. The two types of management are open reduction and internal fixation and revision to a stemmed hip implant. These fractures can be fixed with cannulated hip screws, blade plate device or plating with screws avoiding the stem of the resurfacing prosthesis. We used the polyaxial locking plate device with good result thereby avoiding the need for revision surgery with its attendant risks. Using this implant is a useful alternative for these fracture patterns.
Correspondence should be addressed to BHS c/o BOA, at the Royal College of Surgeons, 35–43 Lincoln’s Inn Fields, London, WC2A 3PE, England.
