RESEARCH ARTICLE
Concepts and Potential Future Developments for Treatment of Periprosthetic Proximal Femoral Fractures
Stephan Brand*, 1, Max Ettinger 2, Mohamed Omar 1, Nael Hawi 1, Christian Krettek 1, Maximilian Petri 1, 3
Article Information
Identifiers and Pagination:
Year: 2015Volume: 9
First Page: 405
Last Page: 411
Publisher ID: TOORTHJ-9-405
DOI: 10.2174/1874325001509010405
Article History:
Received Date: 15/4/2015Revision Received Date: 8/7/2015
Acceptance Date: 22/7/2015
Electronic publication date: 31/8/2015
Collection year: 2015

open-access license: This is an open access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted, non-commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited.
Abstract
Periprosthetic proximal femoral fractures are a major challenge for the orthopaedic surgeon, with a continuously increasing incidence due to aging populations and concordantly increasing numbers of total hip replacements. Surgical decision-making mainly depends on the stability of the arthroplasty, and the quality of bone stock. As patients final outcomes mainly depend on early mobilization, a high primary stability of the construct is of particular relevance. Osteosynthetic procedures are usually applied for fractures with a stable arthroplasty, while fractures with a loosened endoprosthesis commonly require revision arthroplasty. Osteoporotic bone with insufficient anchoring substance for screws poses one major concern for cases with well-fixed arthroplasties. Complication rates and perioperative mortality have remained unacceptably high, emphasizing the need for new innovations in the treatment of periprosthetic fractures. Transprosthetic drilling of screws through the hip stem as the most solid and reliable part in the patient might represent a promising future approach, with auspicious results in recent biomechanical studies.