Subcapital femoral neck fracture following successful trochanteric fracture treatment with a dynamic hip screw: a report of five cases

YT Lung, WL Kam, YF Leung, OM Chung, YL Wai
Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Yan Chai Hospital, Hong Kong

A subcapital femoral neck fracture complicating a healed trochanteric fracture is rare. Such cases are managed in a rather heterogeneous manner, i.e. there exists a mixture of cases treated by either fixed angle devices or dynamic compression screws. We describe 5 patients who developed subcapital femoral neck fractures after healed trochanteric fractures treated with dynamic compression screws. The subjects' clinical data, operative records, and radiographs have been studied retrospectively and the literature reviewed. The risk factors for such a complication include being of advanced age, female, osteoporotic, and having a small femoral head and neck, and a basicervical type of fracture.