ABSTRACT

Intertrochanteric femoral fractures in elderly patients, which is not infrequent with high mortality and morbidity rates, presents a surgical dilemma for orthopedists and traumatologists, since a wide range of treatment methods are offered by devetoping biomedical and biomechanical sciences. In this study, we aimed to declare short term results of the external fixation method for treatment of intertrochanteric femoral fractures operated in SSK İstanbul Hospital lind Orthopaedics and Traumatology Clinics from May 1993 to January 1994. Twentysix male, and six female patients with avarage age of 63.8 years (ranging from 48 to 86), of which twentyseven patients were examined in April 1994 and included in this study. Longest follow-up period was ll months, and the shortest was 2.3 months (mean 7.3 months). All the results were evaluated as either very good or good, and neither of the patients showed poor results. Especially for osteoporotic elderly patients suffering intertrochanteric femoral fracture, external fixation is an easier, less traumatic, that is to say, an alternativ method to internal fıxation.