Deyerle fixation for intracapsular fractures of the femoral neck.

The results of the Deyerle method of pin plate fixation for intracapsular fracture of the neck of the femur are less satisfactory than the results in the original literature. We treated 143 intrascapsular neck fractures of the femur by the Deyerle method during the period from 1969 to 1975. Seventy-four patients had follow-ups of one year or had a major complication leading to failure prior to one year for evaluation. The failures were the result of avascular necrosis in 17.6% of the patients, non-union in 27% of the patients, and pin breakage in 1.35% of patients. Eight cases with combined avascular necrosis and non-union resulted in an overall failure rate of 26 patients or 35% of the 74 patients. These observations corroborate other reports in the literature on a high failure rate with multiple pin and plate fixation.