Increased stability by a novel femoral neck interlocking plate compared to conventional fixation methods. A biomechanical study in synthetic bone.

BACKGROUND

Stable fixation promotes union in the common femoral neck fractures, but high non-union rates due to fixation failure remain with traditional fixations. To enhance stability, a plate interlocking pins, but without further fixation to femur has been developed. To our knowledge, no comparison to other conventional fixation methods has been performed. We tested the hypothesis that the novel implant biomechanically leads to a more stable femoral neck fixation.

METHODS

Fifty synthetic femurs with a cervical wedge osteotomy were allocated to intervention with three hook-pins interlocked in a plate (Hansson Pinloc® System) or standard fixations with a two-hole Dynamic Hip Screw® plate with an anti-rotational screw, three cannulated screws (ASNIS® III) or two screws (Olmed® or Cannulated Hip Screws®). Quasi-static non-destructive torsion around the neck, anteroposterior bending and vertical compression were tested to detect stiffness. The specimen's deformation was evaluated after cyclic compression simulating weight-bearing. Local deformation of implant channels was measured. Fixation failure was defined by fissure formation.

FINDINGS: Compared to the conventional implants all together, the interlocked pins enhanced mean stiffness 130% in torsion and 33% in bending (P < 0.001), while compressive stability was increased by a reduced deformation of 62% in average of the global test specimen and 95% decreased local implant channel deformation after cycling (P < 0.001). In comparisons with each of the standard fixations the interlocking pins revealed no signs of adverse effects.

INTERPRETATION: The novel femoral neck interlocking plate allowed dynamic compression and improved multi-directional stability compared to the traditional fixations.