The second hip fracture in osteoporotic patients: not only an orthopaedic matter.

The second hip fracture indicates the fracture of the osteoporotic femoral neck which occurs in patients already operated on the opposite side. It is a growing problem, especially in Italy where the ageing rate of the population is one of the highest in the world. Only in recent years this issue has been discussed in the international literature about timing and the treatment methods as a consequence linked to the social costs, mortality, disability of this pathology.

Femoral fractures in the extremely elderly.

At the Trauma Unit of Pisa we performed an observational study reviewing nineties that about 200 patients were treated and underwent surgery for femoral neck fracture from 1998 to 2005. The clinical and radiographic results obtained were discrete, with a mortality of 42.5%, the survivors are still having a good quality of life.