Surgical Treatment of Atypical Femoral Fracture

Abstract

Unlike typical hip fractures, atypical femoral fractures occur at subtrochanteric or diaphyseal area. Characteritics of atypical femoral fractures include their location in the subtrochanteric region and femoral shaft, transverse or short oblique orientation, minimal or no associated trauma, a medial spike when the fracture is complete, and absence of comminution. Most important treatment of atypical femoral fractures is a rigid internal fixation. However, an atypical femoral fracture resulting from long-term use of bisphosphonate might occur as delayed union or nonunion. Some case reports on effectiveness of bone-forming agents in atypical femoral fractures have been reported. According to the reported researches, parathyroid hormone and strontium ranelate are known to be effective in rapid recovery of osteoporosis and fracture. However, additional well-designed research on effectiveness of bone-forming agents in atypical femoral fractures will be necessary.