Thompson hemiarthroplasty through a trochanteric osteotomy approach

The case histories and radiographs of 100 patients treated with a cemented Thompson prosthesis for displaced subcapital fracture were reviewed. All had been operated on through a lateral approach to the hip joint, combined with trochanteric osteotomy. Twenty patients had an unsound trochanteric reattachment at follow-up; only six were symptomatic. There were no cases of proximal femoral fracture or perforation, and only one dislocation. Infection rate and para-articular ossification did not occur more frequently than in other series.