ABSTRACT
Objective:To investigate the clinical outcomes of open reduction and cannulated screw fixation directly via the anterior approach for femoral neck fracture of Garden type Ⅳ which is difficultly reducible in young and middle-aged patients.Methods:Forty patients aged younger than 65 years old were treated by open reduction and cannulated screw fixation directly via the anterior approach for femoral neck fractures which were difficulty reducible at Department of Orthopaedics, Mindong Hospital from March 2015 to October 2017. They were 28 males and 12 females, aged from 22 to 62 years (mean, 49.2 years). All the fractures were type Ⅳ by the Garden classification. The time from injury to operation averaged 3.2 d (range, from 1 to 6 d). Their postoperative fracture nonunion and femoral head necrosis were recorded. The reduction quality and hip function were evaluated using Garden reduction index and Harris hip scores.Results:All the 40 patients were followed up for 11 to 44 months (mean, 22.3 months). Nonunion occurred in one patient who had to accept secondary artificial hip replacement. No avascular necrosis of the femoral head occurred in any patients. The anteroposterior Garden reduction indexes at 2 d after surgery and at the last follow-up for the 40 patients were respectively 156.97°±1.40° and 157.07°±1.47°, showing no significant difference( t=-0.302, P=0.765); so were the lateral Garden reduction indexes (171.82°±4.48° and 172.10°±4.27°) ( t=-2.333, P=0.817). The Harris hip scores at the final follow-up for the hip ranged from 77 to 98 (average, 92); 31 cases were rated as excellent, 6 as good, 2 as fair and one as poor, giving an excellent to good rate of 92.5%. Conclusion:In the treatment of femoral neck fracture of Garden type Ⅳ which is difficultly reducible in young and middle-aged patients, if closed reduction has failed, open reduction and cannulated screw fixation directly via the anterior approach can achieve satisfactory short-term outcomes because it facilitates fracture reduction and fixation under direct vision, promotes fracture union and reduces avascular necrosis of the femoral head.