Ipsilateral fractures of the femoral neck and shaft. A treatment protocol.

Ipsilateral fractures of the femoral neck and shaft present diagnostic difficulties and complex choices as to treatment. A review of the eighty-three cases reported in the literature revealed that one-third of the fractures of the femoral neck were missed initially. No consistent method of treatment can be recommended on the basis of this review. Our present protocol for this double fracture is treatment with immediate internal fixation: the femoral neck fracture is given first priority and is reduced and immobilized with multiple cancellous screws, and the femoral shaft fracture is then treated with retrograde closed intramedullary Küntscher nailing. Appropriate exceptions to the protocol exist. We reviewed the cases of fifteen patients who were treated at Harborview Medical Center and University Hospital from 1971 through 1981. Our experience with the first two patients led to the development of our protocol, which was applied in the thirteen subsequent double fractures. Two of the fifteen femoral-neck fractures were missed initially. All of the fractures had united four months postoperatively. Of the nine patients who were followed for three years or more, two had aseptic necrosis of the femoral head. Compared with other reports, our protocol seems to have produced somewhat better functional results.