Spontaneous fracture of the femoral neck in preexisting avascular necrosis of femoral head in sickle cell disease

Abstract

Avascular necrosis of the femoral head is a known complication of femoral neck fracture but on the contrary, femoral neck fracture in a case of preexisting avas-cular necrosis is a very rare phenomenon. We present a case study of a 47 year old Iraqi male who developed spontaneous ipsilateral subcapital femoral neck fracture under the condition of preexisting sickle cell disease and avascu-lar necrosis of the femoral head. The fracture was unnoticed for a few months. The patient was managed successfully by uncemented total hip arthroplasty. Postoperative recovery was uneventful and he was discharged 4 days after surgery. At 1 year’s follow-up, the patient had normal gait and hip function, with no sign of loosening or any other complications on radiograph.