Utilization of a partially threaded kirschner wire in the treatment of femoral neck fractures

Objective: This report introduces a new type of pin for treatment of femoral neck fractures. Design: Retrospective analysis. Methods: The pin used in this study has a tapered thread in its middle portion to facilitate fixation in the lateral femoral cortex, as well as a simple tip that allows percutaneous pinning without displacement of the reduced position. Between 1978 and 1993, we used our pins on 218 hips in 214 patients, all age sixty years or more. We were able to observe postoperative osteosynthesis in 176 hips (172 patients) during a mean follow-up period of thirty-two months; the incidence of osteosynthesis and local postoperative complications was also charted. Results: Osteosynthesis was obtained in 153 hips (87 percent); for groups based on Garden's classification, results were as follows : twenty-four of twenty-four hips in type 1, fifteen of sixteen in type 2, sixty-three of seventy-one in type 3, and fifty-one of sixty-five in type 4. Some local postoperative complications were observed, including second fractures at the pin insertion point (three hips), pin penetration of the femoral head (twenty-four hips), and pin slippage (three hips). Conclusion: This pin is effective in the treatment of femoral neck fractures and has the added benefits of being minimally invasive and low in cost.