Hip arthroplasty for failed internal fixation of intertrochanteric and subtrochanteric fractures in the elderly patient.

Failure of internal fixation in hip fractures can lead to difficult problems, especially in elderly patients. At the intertrochanteric or subtrochanteric level a prosthesis with diaphyseal support is one of the solutions to this problem. In 12 patients an endoprosthesis was performed for failed internal fixation. The mean age at the time of initial fracture fixation was 79 years (range: 61 to 94 years). The mean time from initial fracture fixation to failure and salvage by an endoprosthesis was 6 months (range: 5 days to 19 months). Eleven patients could be reviewed clinically and radiographically after a mean follow-up time of 32 months (range: 4 months to 7 years). The functional results were satisfactory considering the age of the patients. The current series shows that endoprosthesis might be considered as a valuable method in the salvage treatment of failed internal fixation of a subtrochanteric or intertrochanteric hip fracture.