Intracapsular hip fractures in young adults are treated with internal fixation, often as a surgical emergency to reduce the vascular insult to the femoral head. Avascular necrosis and non-union often require revision surgery. A prospective trauma database was retrospectively searched from 1st August 2008 to 31st December 2010. Intracapsular hip fracture admissions to the Regional Trauma Centre, in adults under sixty-five years, were studied. Ninety-eight intracapsular fractures internally fixed with sliding hip screw underwent radiographic review for quality of fixation, and evidence of complications at a mean of thirteen months. Co-morbid medical conditions and quality of fixation were assessed for association with revision rates.Introduction
Methods
Intracapsular fractures of the femoral neck in young adults are a surgical emergency. Recent literature reviews have questioned whether the timing of surgery reduces the incidence of avascular necrosis, non-union and revision. A study was performed to determine how many patients met a 12-hour target for operative fixation with this injury. Possible sources of delay to theatre were reviewed. A Fractures Outcomes Research Database was used to identify patients aged 18–64 who were admitted to the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast between 1st Jan 2008 and 31st Dec 2009. Intracapsular fractures of the femoral neck which were treated with a 2-hole dynamic hip screw were included. Time of injury, time of presentation in A&E, time of admission to fracture ward, operation time, demographic data, and the mechanism of injury were extracted from the database.Introduction
Methods
