Classification and Treatment of Trochanteric Fractures

THE PURPOSE of this paper is to present the data obtained from the study of 300 trochanteric fractures of the femur treated by the staff of the Campbell Clinic. The results obtained by internal fixation are compared with those following nonoperative methods. A classification is given based on prognosis and the difficulty of securing and maintaining reduction. The number of cases was arbitrarily limited to 300 to facilitate calculation of data. These were as nearly consecutive as possible, consistent with the availability of roentgenograms and completeness of records. All were private patients and most were treated at the Campbell Clinic, since a complete series of roentgenograms was not always preserved at other hospitals. Avulsion fractures of the greater or lesser trochanter were excluded. A number of classifications of trochanteric fractures are recorded in the literature. These have generally been based on the anatomic site of the fractures. Stuck 1 (using Boehler's classification), Moore, 2 Briggs and Keats 3