Head salvage of an infected neck of femur fracture in an adult: a case report

Abstract

Head preservation of an infected neck of femur fracture appears to be extremely rare with no described cases in literature till date. We present the outcome of head salvage in a young adult with an infected neck of femur nonunion who in addition had chronic osteomyelitic sequelae of his entire femur with reactivation of latent infection in the distal femoral diaphysis. Osteosynthesis was performed by means of cancellous screw fixation augmented with bone substitute following a failed attempt at salvage with a valgus intertrochanteric osteotomy. The patient had an excellent functional outcome with near normal hip range of movements at a follow-up of 5 years after union.

Subtle hip joint subluxation after femoral neck fracture fixation: an ominous sign in a report of two cases

“…It may be easier to debride the infected bone and replace the joint at a later date, but it is worth trying to salvage the indigenous hip joint especially in an Indian scenario where life is impossible without activities like squatting and crossleg sitting. 13 Arthroscopic debridement (in Case 1) and open debridement with antibiotic cement rod placement (in Case 2) seem to be two viable treatment options in salvaging the joint. However, subluxation of the hip was not considered to represent infection in every case.…”