An 81-year-old woman presented with a fracture
in the left femur. She had well-fixed bilateral hip replacements
and had received long-term bisphosphonate treatment. Prolonged bisphosphonate
use has been recently linked with atypical subtrochanteric and diaphyseal
femoral fractures. While the current definition of an atypical fracture
of the femur excludes peri-prosthetic fractures, this case suggests
that they do occur and should be considered in patients with severe
osteopenia. Union of the fracture followed cessation of bisphosphonates
and treatment with teriparatide. Thus, this case calls into question
whether prophylactic intramedullary nailing is sufficient alone
to treat early or completed atypical femoral fractures.