UPDATES ON FRACTURES  102nd CONGRESS OF THE PIEMONTESE-LIGURIAN-LOMBARD SOCIETY OF ORTHOPEDICS AND TRAUMATOLOGY (S.P.L.L.O.T.) - Brescia September 9-10, 2005
NEW TECHNOLOGIES, MODERN INSTRUMENTARIUM IN ARTHROPLASTIC SURGERY 

Minerva Ortopedica e Traumatologica 2005 August;56(4):365-70

Copyright © 2005 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: Italian

Periprosthetic fractures: treatment with Dall-Miles plates

Santolini F. ¹, Franchin F. ², Chiapale D. ¹, Quaglio A. ¹, Federici M. ², Stella M. ²

¹ U.O. Ortopedia e Traumatologia d’Urgenza Azienda Ospedaliera San Martino, Genova 2 Clinica Ortopedica e Traumatologica Azienda Ospedaliera San Martino Università degli Studi di Genova, Genova

Aim. Periprosthetic fractures pose an increasing challenge to the orthopaedic surgeon as the number total hip replacement operations and revisions continue to rise. The incidence of fractures varies depending on the implantation technique and the quality of the bone where the fractures occur.
Methods. From March 2003 to June 2004, 15 patients treated at the Orthopedics and Trau-matology Clinic, Genoa, and the Emergency Department of the San Martino Hospital, Genoa, for B1 or B2 periprosthetic fractures (Vancouver classification: 11 type B1, 4 type B2) received a Dall-Miles plate, of which 10 were primary implantations and 5 were revisions; the mean time from surgery to fracture was 4 years (range, 6 months to 12 years).
Results. In all patients examined at follow-up, the mean time to fracture union was 4.5 months; the plates were well tolerated and none of them broke.
Conclusion. The Dall-Miles plates offer a wide variety of solutions in treating periprosthetic fractures. The cable feedthroughs do not require extensive periosteal stripping, thus preserving the biology of the fracture focus and making the use of allografts or autografts subsequently unnecessary, which, in the authors’ opinion and in contrast with the literature, are unneeded in the presence of a stable osteosynthesis.