A long term follow-up of Moore arthroplasty in femoral neck fractures.

Moore arthroplasty was performed for medial femoral neck fractures in 169 patients. The mortality rate was 21.3 per cent within 3 months. The general postoperative complication rate (39.6 per cent) was dominated by cardiopulmonary (17.2 per cent) and thromboembolic (16.0 per cent) events. Of local complications, wound infection was found in 4.7 per cent and osteitis in 3.0 per cent of cases. A total of 60 patients were followed up with a mean observation time of 4.9 years. Of these, 8.3 per cent sustained femoral fractures during this period. The results classified according to the criteria of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons showed 52 per cent excellent or good, 43 per cent fair and 5 per cent poor results. The roentgenological finding of settling or osteolysis along the prosthesis was significantly correlated to reduced hip mobility. Ossification in the prosthetic fenestres gave significantly diminished settling, and was correlated to better hip mobility and less pain. In our opinion, Moore arthroplasty has proved to be an acceptable method for the treatment of femoral neck fractures in elderly patients, as 73 per cent had an acceptable range of motion, 40 per cent managed walking distances of more than 500 m and 70 per cent had minimal or no pain. Although 25 per cent became nursing home patients, this reduction of vitality could be related to the hip arthroplasty in only two cases.