Iatrogenic arterial trauma associated with hip fracture surgery.

During a 5 year period, 1417 patients with various types of hip fractures were surgically treated. Three cases of iatrogenic arterial injuries occurred during the correction procedures, giving an incidence of 0.21%. In 2 patients the profunda femoral and in one the common femoral artery were involved. The mechanisms of injury were: a protruding screw, beyond the medial border of the femur in the first patient, arterial tear, due to bone speculae in the second and external pressure to the artery from an avulsed lesser trochanter in the third. The clinical findings were false aneurysms in two and distal ischaemia in the third patient. All patients were surgically treated. Early diagnosis of this type of injuries is the cornerstone for a good outcome.