Subchondral insufficiency fracture of the femoral head after internal fixation for femoral neck fracture: histopathological investigation

Abstract

Late segmental collapse after internal fixation for femoral neck fracture is the phenomenon observed in post-traumatic osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ON), which has generally been reported to occur over a year or more after internal fixation. Subchondral insufficiency fracture of the femoral head (SIF) has also been recognized to cause femoral head collapse, however, only two cases of SIF after internal fixation for femoral neck fracture have been reported. We report a case with femoral head collapse observed 5 months after internal fixation for femoral neck fracture, which was histopathologically diagnosed as SIF. Clinically, differentiating SIF from ON is important because some cases of SIF have been reported to heal without surgical treatments. The timing of femoral head collapse after femoral neck fracture may be different between SIF and post-traumatic ON.