A special superior cortex compressive fracture of femoral neck: Two case reports

Garden type I femoral neck fractures are incomplete stable fractures with impaction in valgus fractures that the question of whether there exists Garden type I femoral neck fracture is currently uncertain. There is still disagreement on the existence of the Garden type I fractures.

Herein we report 2 cases with the Garden type I femoral neck fractures. Both of them had a history of simple fall.

The X-ray showed incomplete fractures of the femoral neck and the Garden classification is type I. Further computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging were used to confirm the diagnosis of this type fracture, which showed that the superior cortex of femoral neck was discontinuous and the inferior cortex remains intact.

The conservative treatment schedule including immobilization of the affected lower limb, strict bed rest, bed-to-wheelchair transfer training, and half-to-full weight bearing mobilization were chosen to treat the patients.

Both of them achieved fracture union with conservative treatment at 3-month follow-up. No secondary displacement, signal of osteonecrosis of the femoral head or other complications occurred during 24-month follow-up in 2 cases.

Although the Garden type I femoral neck fractures are rare, our report is in line with the real existence of it.