Case ReportUse of a long distally fixed intramedullary stem to treat a periprosthetic femoral fracture following total hip arthroplasty using a thrust plate hip prosthesis: A case report

- We report a periprosthetic fracture following the use of a discontinued prosthesis.
- Marked bone ongrowth on the thrust plate made it difficult to remove.
- A long distally fixed intramedullary stem was selected for revision.
- Sufficient implant preparation based on precise preoperative planning is necessary.

IntroductionThe thrust plate hip prosthesis (TPP; Zimmer, Winterthur, Switzerland) is a hip prosthesis that is no longer in production. Few reports have focused on periprosthetic fractures following total hip arthroplasty (THA) with the use of a TPP.Presentation of caseWe report a 57-year-old woman with a periprosthetic femoral fracture 13 years after THA with the use of a TPP. A plain radiograph showed a displaced subtrochanteric fracture of the right femur just below the distal tip of the lateral plate without implant loosening. She underwent revision surgery with a long distally fixed intramedullary stem in conjunction with a plate and cable system. Three months after surgery, bone union was confirmed using radiography and the patient was clinically asymptomatic.DiscussionWe encountered three major problems while planning surgical treatment, these being, discontinuation of the TPP system, loss of proximal femoral cancellous bone, and difficulties with the type of subtrochanteric fracture. After considering these problems, we planned revision surgery using a long distally fixed intramedullary stem in conjunction with a plate and cable system.ConclusionThis case shows that sufficient implant preparation based on precise preoperative planning is necessary to obtain good clinical results for the surgical treatment of periprosthetic femoral fractures following THA with the use of a TPP.