Purpose: To report the surgical skills needed, and the clinical results of, minimally invasive hip surgery with dynamic hip screws and the comparison with the classical technique in stable pertrochanteric fractures of the femur.
Materials and Methods: Thirty-two patients with pertrochanteric fractures of the femur who were treated with dynamic compression hip screws between April 1999 and March 2004, and were evaluated retrospectively, and were followed up for more than 12 months. 16 cases were treated with a classical dynamic hip screw technique and 16 cases with a minimally invasive technique in random order. The mean age was 73.2 years, and there were 11 males and 21 females. The operative times, total hemovac bleeding loss, functional scores, and average hemoglobin decrease ratios were evaluated. The clinical assessments were performed with the Harris Hip Score (HSS) and bony union was evaluated with serial follow-up plain radiographs.
Results: The average operative time was 63.9 minutes with the classical technique and 42.5 minutes with the minimally invasive technique. The total average hemovac blood loss was 640 cc with the classical technique and 143 cc with the minimally invasive technique. Clinically, the HHS was an average of 85.9 and 89.2 in groups 1 and 2, respectively, by the last follow-up and there were no statistically significant differences between the two groups (P <0.05) The hemoglobin decrease ratio was the same in both groups and there was no nonunion.
Conclusion: Minimally invasive dynamic hip screw insertion was useful in stable pertrochanteric fractures, because it decreased blood loss and operative times; and there were no changes in fracture healing and functional outcomes.
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