Improved control over implant anchorage under the use of the femoral neck system for fixation of femoral neck fractures: a technical note

Abstract

Background The depth of bolt in Femoral neck system (FNS, DePuy Synthes, Oberdorf, Switzerland) is difficult to finely control as the length of the bolt is in units of 5 mm. Thus, this study introduces a method to control the depth of FNS bolt in analogue scale in patients with femoral neck fracture. Methods By the technique of control of reaming and retraction of bolt, the tip of implant could be positioned close to subchondral bone without harming it. The position of implant tip in four cases in which the introduced technique was applied was compared to that of eight cases where the standard technique was performed. Results The average tip-apex distance measured in the cases that underwent surgery using the suggested technique in this study was statistically significantly shorter than that measured in the cases that underwent surgery under manufacturer guidelines. Conclusion Even though the bolt of FNS is manufactured in the unit of 5 mm, the technique proposed in this study helps surgeons to adjust the depth of bolt for the fixation of femoral neck fracture using FNS.