ARTIFICIAL FEMORAL HEAD REPLACEMENT COMPARED WITH DYNAMIC HIP SCREW(DHS) INTERNAL FIXATION OF AGED PATIENTS WITH INTERTROCHANTERIC FRACTURES--A METAPHASE, PROSPECTIVE, RANDOMIZED STUDY

Abstract

The purpose of this investigation was to prospective compare the results of artificial femoral head replacement with those of treatment with a DHS internal fixation for unstable intertrochanteric fractures in elderly patients.

Sixty-one cases of aged patients with intertrochanteric fractures were randomized into two treatment groups. All patients were followed for a minimum of four years from 9.1999 to 4.2003, 29 patients were treated with artificial femoral head replacement, the other were treated with DHS internal fixation. The clinical results of two ways for the treatment of aged patients with intertrochanteric fractures were observed.

There were no significant differences between the groups in terms of functional outcomes, blood loss, or units of blood transfused. Patients treated with artificial femoral head replacement had a shorter hospital stay and operative time, less time to weight-bearing, fewer general complications, and lower mortality rate compared with those treated with the DHS internal fixation.

We conclude that in elderly patients with an unstable intertrochanteric femoral fracture, a artificial femoral head replacement provides superior clinical outcomes but no advantage with regard to functional outcome when compared with a DHS internal fixation.