This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.

Percutaneous compression plating may be more advantageous than screw fixation

Add topic to email alerts

Receive an email when new articles are posted on

Please provide your email address to receive an email when new articles are posted on .

Subscribe

Added to email alerts

You've successfully added to your alerts. You will receive an email when new content is published.

Click Here to Manage Email Alerts

You've successfully added to your alerts. You will receive an email when new content is published.

Click Here to Manage Email Alerts

Back to Healio

We were unable to process your request. Please try again later. If you continue to have this issue please contact customerservice@slackinc.com.

Back to Healio

DENVER — Treating pertrochanteric hip fractures with a percutaneous compression plating system may lead to shorter operative times, better function and fewer lateral wall fractures than sliding hip screw fixation.

In a prospective, randomized study presented at the 24th Annual Meeting of the Orthopaedic Trauma Association, Edward Yang, MD, and colleagues studied 66 patients with A1 or A2 pertrochanteric hip fractures who were treated with either a percutaneous compression plating (PCCP) system or sliding hip screw (SHS) fixation. The patients had a mean age of 77 years and were followed monthly for 1 year.

The investigators discovered statistically shorter operative times (48 minutes versus 78 minutes), less blood loss (41 cc versus 101 cc) and shorter incision lengths (57 mm versus 86 mm) in the PCCP group compared to the SHS group, respectively.

They also found that outcomes assessing return to preoperative mobility favored the PCCP group.

Fewer patients in the PCCP group needed walking aids at discharge compared to those in the SHS cohort, and this trend continued throughout the follow-up, according to the study abstract. In addition, the PCCP group had better SF-36 physical function scores than the comparison group at 2 weeks and throughout the remainder of the study.

Additional research conducted by Yang and his colleagues also showed a 2% rate of lateral wall fractures in PCCP-treated patients compared to a 20% rate in those who underwent sliding hip screw fixation.

“The PCCP offers faster operative times, smaller incisions and less blood loss,” Yang said. “We see less lateral wall fractures. There is a tendency towards better function and better return to preoperative mobility. Currently, we use the PCCP for all A1 and A2 intertrochanteric hip fractures.”

For more information:

• Yang E, Qureshi S, Trokhan S, et al. Percutaneous compression plating compared to sliding hip screw fixation of pertrochanteric hip fractures: A prospective randomized study. Paper #36. Presented at the 24th Annual Meeting of the Orthopaedic Trauma Association. Oct. 16-18, 2008. Denver.