Comparison of fixation in the treatment of femoral neck fractures.

Two hundred ninety patients with femoral neck fractures of the Garden Type III or IV were treated during the years 1965 through 1978 using one of four types of internal fixation devices. The results divided the devices into two distinct groups. Those allowing highly stable fixation (Calandruccio compression and Deyerle devices) had a higher rate of union and a higher rate of early complications. Those less stable devices (Smith-Peterson nail with Knowles pins and Knowles pins alone) had lower rates of union and early complication. Although avascular necrosis is recorded, no significant comparison could be made because of the lack of a two-year follow-up study in a significant number of cases.