Osteosynthesis in femoral neck fracture in two patients with ipsilateral lower limb amputation

Femoral neck fracture in lower limb amputees poses treatment problems. The altered biomechanics of the hip in amputees, stump length, associated osteoporosis and difficulty in positioning these patients on the operation table are few of the technical challenges faced by an operating surgeon especially while salvaging the native hip joint. We report a case series of two lower limb amputee patients with fracture neck of femur in whom we salvaged the native hip joint by performing osteosynthesis. We observed satisfactory results of osteosynthesis in both of our patients on follow-up, with both achieving pretrauma ambulatory status in 6-8 weeks postoperatively. We concluded that each lower limb amputee patient with fracture neck of femur should be carefully evaluated on presentation and managed individually. These patients can be positioned and managed by osteosynthesis on a standard operating table or fracture table without requiring any special operating theatre set-up (traction devices).