Bipolar hemiarthroplasty for intracapsular femoral neck fractures in elderly patients.

PURPOSE: To report outcome of 30 patients who underwent bipolar hemiarthroplasty for intracapsular femoral neck fractures.

METHODS: 18 women and 12 men aged 56 to 86 (mean, 70) years with Garden type III (n=7) or IV (n=23) intracapsular femoral neck fractures underwent cemented (n=5) or uncemented (n=25) bipolar hemiarthroplasty. Pain was evaluated using the visual analogue score. Mobility status was classified as ambulation with or without aid (a cane or walker). Stability of the prosthesis was classified as stable or unstable. Functional outcome was evaluated using the Harris Hip Score.

RESULTS: The mean length of hospital stay was 15.3 (range, 4-29) days. At the 6-month follow-up, 21 patients had no pain, 6 had mild pain, and 3 had moderate pain. The mean Harris Hip Score was 83.1; functional outcome was excellent in 10 patients, good in 13, fair in 5, and poor in 2. The latter 2 were non-ambulatory; one of whom had sustained a periprosthetic fracture intra-operatively, which was managed by encerclage wiring, and the other had a neglected prosthetic dislocation at 3 months, which was converted to an excision arthroplasty.

CONCLUSION: Bipolar hemiarthroplasty conferred good short-term outcome.