Fractures of the femoral neck after healed intertrochanteric fractures: a complication of too short a nail plate fixation. Report of three cases.

Three cases are described in which a femoral neck fracture developed at least 1 year after a healed intertrochanteric fracture of the femur. Trauma via osteoporotic bone is felt to be the cause. To prevent this complication, a nail extending just to the articular cartilage of the hip joint is needed. This can be accomplished by the displacement osteotomy technique or by the use of the sliding nail-plate into the more stable posterior inferior quadrant of the head.