title: Early experience with the proximal femoral locking plate.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the failure rate of proximal femoral locking plates after an initial 2 years of use at a Level I trauma center. This retrospective chart review included 13 patients with intertrochanteric or peritrochanteric femoral fractures who underwent open reduction and internal fixation. Average patient age was 47 years (range, 23-80 years); average follow-up was 12.7 months (range, 2 weeks to 23 months). Three (23%) patients experienced catastrophic failure of the implant. The overall revision rate was 46% (6 of 13). One patient experienced avascular necrosis and required a planned total hip arthroplasty. In the appropriate setting, the proximal femoral locking plate can offer stable fixation for fractures involving the proximal femur; however, this series highlights the difficulties associated with treating these injuries, especially in patients with multiple injuries. Care must be taken to avoid varus malalignment and to address metabolic bone dysfunction.
authors.forename: Mark W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Floyd
authors.forename: John C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: France
authors.forename: David F
authors.initials: DF
authors.lastname: Hubbard
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001860:Bone Plates; D005593:Fracture Fixation, Internal / Q000295:instrumentation*; D006620:Hip Fractures / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D012086:Reoperation; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D055815:Young Adult