Porous-Coated Endoprosthesis in Treatment of Subcapital Fractures

Excision of the femoral head and replacement with a non-cemented porous-coated Austin Moore prosthesis was performed on 13 patients with subcapital fractures. These fractures represented a small cross-section of problems, including simple trauma, pathologic lesions, and fractures in patients with chronic renal failure and receiving long-term steroid therapy. Followup ranged from 13 to 28 months, during which all patients were interviewed and examined clinically and roentgenographically. One patient was lost to followup. Our results were satisfactory, permitting essentially normal daily activity in all but two patients. One female hemiplegic, confined to a wheelchair prior to surgery, developed considerable ectopic bone limiting hip motion, while a second patient had loosening of his prosthesis after several falls related to his uncontrolled diabetes and hypoglycemic episodes.