The aim of this study was to determine the correlation between body weight and fracture union for displaced intracapsular fracture neck of femur treated by closed reduction and internal fixation. A total of 197 patients with displaced intracapsular fracture of neck of femur, all of whom have been treated with closed reduction and internal fixation, were studied. The mean age was 71 years and 79% were female. Patients were followed up until fracture endpoint (union or non-union) with minimum follow up of 200 days.Objective
Patients and methods
We report a retrospective study of the major complications following one-stage and two-stage bilateral unicompartmental knee replacements (UKR). Between 1999 and 2008, 911 patients underwent 1150 UKRs through a minimally- invasive approach in our unit. Of these, 159 patients (318 UKRs) had one-stage bilateral UKR and 80 patients (160 UKRs) had two-stage bilateral UKRs. The remainder were unilateral UKRs. The bilateral UKR groups were comparable in age and ASA grade, but more females were in the two-staged group (p=0.019). Mechanical thromboprophylaxis was used in all cases. Major complications were recorded as death, pulmonary embolus, proximal deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and adverse cardiac events within 30 days of surgery. No statistical differences between the groups were found regarding operating surgeon, tourniquet time or minor complications (excepting distal DVT). Anaesthetic times were greater for the two-stage group (p= 0.0001). Major complications were significantly more common with one-stage bilateral UKR (13 patients, 8.2%) compared to two-stage bilateral UKR (no patients) (p=0.005). Distal DVT was more frequent in the two-stage group (p=0.036). This series reports significantly higher risks of major complications are associated with one-stage bilateral UKR when compared to two-stage bilateral UKR. There is no evidence that the addition of chemical thrombo-prophylaxis would change this risk. We advocate caution before undertaking a one-stage bilateral UKR.
