Treatment of Ipsilateral Unstable Femoral Fracture after Total Hip Arthroplasty / 대한정형외과학회잡지

PURPOSE: To show the results of treatment of ipsilateral unstable femoral fracture during postoperative period of total hip arthroplasty. MATERIAL AND METHOD: We analyzed eight cases of ipsilateral unstable femoral fractures during the postoperative period of total hip arthroplasty, which were treated operatively from November 1992 to November 1995. The follow-up period ranged from 2 years to 3 years and 8 months (average, 2 years 8 months). There were seven cases of type B2 fractures and one case of type B3 fracture according to the Duncan's8) classification. All showed femoral stem loosening. One case was treated with revision of new femoral stem and internal fixation using wire. Six cases were treated with revision of long femoral stem and internal fixation using wire or Parham band. One case was treated with revision of long femoral stem and internal fixation using plate and wire. All cases had bone graft performed at the fracture site of femur. RESULTS: The results of treatment of periprosthetic fractures showed that seven cases were satisfactory and one case was unsatisfactory. The complications were as follows: nonunion in one, heterotopic ossification in two, and one case of limb shortening. CONCLUSION: The treatment of ipsilateral femoral fractures during postoperative period of total hip arthroplasty can be complex and difficult but revision arthroplasty with a new femoral stem prosthesis, combined with internal fixation and bone graft, may be satisfactory, if the femoral stem is displaced or loosened.

Measurement of the Morphologic Changes of Intercondylar Notch by Magnetic Resonance Imaging / 대한정형외과학회잡지

The purpose of this retrospective study was to evaluate the morphology of the intercondylar notch of the knee in 72 anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) intact group and 30 acute and chronic ACL tear group by plain radiographs and MRI, and to find the predisposing factors of ACL tear. The ACL tear group was divided into acute and chronic ACL tear group. In plain lateral radio-graphs, beta angle, angle between extension line from anterior cortical line of distal femur and from Blumensaat s line, was measured. In magnetic resonance imaging, the width of intercondylar notch (NB), the widest width of both femoral condyle (NW), intercondylar notch width from lower one third point of notch basal line (NB1), intercondylar notch width from upper one third point of notch basal line (NB2), depth of intercondylar notch from notch basal line (ND), and intercondylar angle which made from both end point of notch basal line and apex of intercondylar notch (alpha) were measured. Three groups were compared with each other by statistical analysis. Stastistically, the acute ACL tear group had narrow upper portion of intercondylar notch than chronic ACL tear group and more acute angle of roof of the intercondylar notch than intact ACL group. So in notchplasty, the upper one-third of intercondylar notch should be carefully widened. And after fixation of femoral interference screw, arthroscopic observation should be done whether reconstruced graft touchs the roof of the intercondylar notch during the extension of the knee.

The Value of the Tip - Apex Distance in Predicting Failure of Fixation of Intertrochanteric Fractures of the Hip / 대한정형외과학회잡지

Failure of fixation of intertrochanteric fractures that have been treated with a fixed-angle sliding hip-screw device is frequently related to the position of the lag screw in the femoral head. The purpose of this study is to introduce the concept of the tip-apex distance and to demonstrate its clinical usefulness as a predictor of cutout of the screw used for fixation of the intertrochanteric fractures of the hip. The tip-apex distance is the sum of the distance from the tip of the lag screw to the apex of femoral head on an anteroposterior radiograph and this distance on a lateral radiograph after controlling for magnification. To determine the value of tip-apex distance in the prediction of cutout of the lag screw, 67 intertrochanteric fractures that have been treated with a fixed-angle sliding hip screw device were studied. The minimum duration of follow-up was three months during which period all of the fractures either healed or had failure of the fixation. The average tip-apex distance was 21mm (range,22.8-65.8mm) for the successfully treated fractures compared with 35mm (range,8.4-65.8mm) for those in which the screw cutout. There was strong statistical relationship between an increasing tip-apex distance and the rate of cutout. An unstable fracture, a poor reduction were also associated with a significantly increased risk of failure due to cutout.