Hemiarthroplasty for Hip Fracture in Down Syndrome: A Retrospective Series of Five Cases

There is limited evidence regarding the outcomes of hip hemiarthroplasty (HA) following trauma in individuals living with Down syndrome (DS). This study aims to summarize the outcomes of hip HA in a series of individuals living with DS following femoral neck fractures.

This retrospective study includes five cases of hip HA in four individuals with DS and displaced femoral neck fractures. Subjects (four males) had a mean age of 49.3 years (range, 26.1-59.7 years) at the time of surgery. All subjects presented with hip pain, loss of weight-bearing ability, and decreased activity level as reported by the subject caregivers. In all cases, the precise time of injury was not known.

After a mean follow-up of 15.2 months, all subjects had returned to the pre-injury activity level without any recorded complications. One individual died 32 months after surgery for unrelated causes; the remaining subjects are alive and ambulating without pain at a mean of 24.2 months since the surgery.

When treating femoral neck fractures in those living with DS, careful history taking should be performed as regards the timing of trauma and the individual's functional status. Hip HA seems a viable treatment option for those living with DS if a proper surgical procedure is utilized.