Nonunion and osteonecrosis are two major problems that lead to revision surgery after treatment of intracapsular femoral neck fractures

Osteonecrosis and nonunion as complication of fracture neck femur p. 23

Rudra P. S. Thakur, Alok C Agrawal, Bikas K Sahoo, Vishal K Kujur

DOI:10.4103/jodp.JODP_14_18  

Nonunion and osteonecrosis are two major problems that lead to revision surgery after treatment of intracapsular femoral neck fractures. Fixation failure and nonunion are the main modes of failure following fixation of displaced or undisplaced femoral neck fractures. The two problems are difficult to distinguish as most displaced fractures take a long time to heal after fixation, which increases the risk of fixation failure. Avascular necrosis of the femoral head occurs in 9%–18% of patients, between 2 and 8 years postfracture. Risk factors include the degree of fracture displacement, patient age, and delay in surgical treatment.