Management of gamma nail breakage with bipolar hemi-arthroplasty

Wee JLH, Sathappan SS, Yeo MSW, Low YP
Correspondence: Dr Sathappan Sathappan, sathappan@ttsh.com.sg

ABSTRACT
Gamma nail breakage is an uncommon occurrence that often arises from fatigue failure of the implant, with a reported incidence ranging from 0.2 to 5.7 percent. We report a 73-year-old woman with a three-part intertrochanteric fracture and who presented two years postoperatively with gamma nail failure secondary to fracture non-union. This patient underwent a revision long-stem bipolar hemi-arthroplasty and has been followed-up for 24 months, with good functional and radiological results.

Keywords: bipolar hemi-arthroplasty, gamma nail, hip implant, implant failure, intertrochanteric fracture
Singapore Med J 2009; 50(1): e44-e47