Dall-Miles plates for periprosthetic femoral fractures. A critical review of 16 cases.

Fourteen patients with 16 periprosthetic femoral fractures around hip replacement were treated with Dall-Miles plates between June 1996 and February 2000. There were 10 Vancouver B3, three B1 and three type C fractures. In addition to a Dall-Miles plate, two of the fractures (one B3 and one C type) were also stabilised with one strut graft and nine B3 fractures were revised with impaction grafting. Of the three B1 fractures treated with plates, two failed through fracture of the plate. A further two patients with B3 fractures treated with plates also failed with fracture of the plate. Failure of these plates occurred within 6 months of surgery. All non-unions and fixation failures in this series were in cases where the femoral component did not bypass the most distal fracture line by at least two cortical diameters. The Dall-Miles plates and cable system alone is insufficient for the treatment for periprosthetic femoral fractures. It must be supplemented with additional intramedullary or extramedullary fixation.