Periprosthetic Fracture Rate in Elderly Patients Undergoing Hip Hemiarthroplasty: A Comparison of Fit-and-Fill, Tapered-Wedge, and Cemented Stems.

Abstract

To compare the periprosthetic fracture rates of three stem designs: cemented, press-fit fit-and-fill, and tapered wedge for hemiarthroplasty in geriatric patients with femoral neck fractures. Design: Retrospective review. Two institutions, including one level I trauma center. Patients aged 70 years or older with a displaced femoral neck fracture (OTA/AO 31B) treated with press-fit or cemented hemiarthroplasty were included. Patients treated with total hip arthroplasty, conversion procedures, concomitant acetabular fracture, and pathologic fractures were excluded. Rates of intraoperative and postoperative periprosthetic femur fracture (PFF), 30-day and 1-year mortality, operative time, length of stay, and rate of reoperation were compared between stem subtypes. A total of 758 consecutive patients (404 tapered wedge, 227 fit-and-fill, and 127 cemented) were included. The mean follow-up was 10.1±14.1, 13.0±16.6, 6.8±10.9 months, for tapered wedge, fit-and-fill, and cemented stems, respectively. Tapered wedge stems had an average age of 83.6 years (range 70-100) with 29.2% male; fit-and-fill stems had an average age of 84.3 years (70-102) with 34.8% male; and cemented stems had an average age of 84.1 years (range 70-100) with 26.0% male. 56 (41 intraoperative and 15 postoperative) PFFs were identified. The rate of PFF between tapered wedge (9.4%), fit-and-fill (4.8%), and cemented stems (5.5%) differed significantly (P = 0.01). Fit-and-fill implants had a lower rate of PFF than tapered wedge implants (P = 0.04) and were equivalent to cemented fixation (P = 0.78). Among intraoperative PFFs, tapered wedge stems had a significantly higher calcar fracture rate than fit-and-fill (P = 0.03) and cemented (P = 0.02) stems. Use of fit-and-fill stems did not result in a higher rate of intraoperative calcar fracture than cemented stems (P = 0.85). Postoperative PFF reoperation rates did not reach statistical significance between fit-and-fill (1.8%), tapered wedge (1.7%), and cemented (0.8%) stems (P = 0.39). Fit-and-fill stems had significantly less operative time than cemented stems (93.6 ± 30.0 vs 108.7 ± 41.0 minutes, respectively; P <0.001). No differences in 30-day (4.5%, 4.9%, 5.5%; P = 0.88) or 1-year mortality (17.1%, 17.0%, 22.4%; P = 0.37) were observed between tapered wedge, fit-and-fill, and cemented stems, respectively. When treating displaced femoral neck fractures, tapered wedge stems may result in a higher rate of PFF. As an alternative, fit-and-fill stems may lower PFF rates without the risk of bone cement implant syndrome and longer operative times. Therapeutic Level III.