Article Text

Download PDFPDF
CASE REPORT
Neck of femur fracture fixation in a bilateral amputee: an uncommon condition requiring an improvised fracture table positioning technique
  1. Andrew James Berg,
  2. Chandra Bhatia
  1. Department of Trauma and Orthopaedics, North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust, Stockton on Tees, UK
  1. Correspondence to Andrew James Berg, a.j.berg{at}doctors.org.uk

Summary

While neck of femur fractures are common it is rare to see this injury in a bilateral leg amputee. Special consideration needs to be given to the management of these patients. We report the case of a 58-year-old man with bilateral leg amputation who presented to the emergency department with left hip pain following a fall. A fracture of the left neck of femur with extension into the femoral shaft was diagnosed. Internal fixation was planned with a dynamic hip screw. Standard fracture table setup, which allows for traction of the fractured limb and positioning of the contralateral limb such that anteroposterior and lateral X-rays can be obtained, was not possible in this case due to the amputations. We highlight considerations that need to be made in positioning a bilateral amputee for neck of femur fracture fixation and also highlight an improvised technique that can be utilised by other surgeons.

Statistics from Altmetric.com

Request Permissions

If you wish to reuse any or all of this article please use the link below which will take you to the Copyright Clearance Center’s RightsLink service. You will be able to get a quick price and instant permission to reuse the content in many different ways.