Case Reports in Orthopedics
Volume 2012 (2012), Article ID 278156, 3 pages
doi:10.1155/2012/278156
Intertrochanteric Fracture of the Ankylosed Hip Joint Treated by a Gamma Nail: A Case Report
1Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Takayama Red Cross Hospital, 3-11 Tenman, Takayama, Gifu 506-8550, Japan
2Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Graduate School of Medicine, Gifu University, 1-1 Yanagido, Gifu 501-1194, Japan
Received 11 May 2012; Accepted 8 July 2012
Academic Editors: K. Erler, B. W. Min, S. A. Papadakis, and T. Tsurumoto
Copyright © 2012 Daichi Ishimaru et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract
We herein report a rare case of an intertrochanteric fracture complicated with an ankylosed hip joint in a 76-year-old man. Generally, operative treatment is performed for elderly people with intertrochanteric fractures to prevent general complications, maintain mobility, and release pain. However, intertrochanteric fractures of ankylosed hip joints are rare, and the optimal surgery for this condition is unknown. In addition, surgical fracture repair is challenging because unusual instability of the fracture site is suspected owing to the long lever arm of the lower extremity. Nevertheless, we successfully treated this rare fracture using a gamma nail, which may be a useful implant with which to treat this type of fracture if the status of the arthrodesed hip joint allows.