Hip Fracture in the Elderly: Why Surgery Within 48 Hours
A 78-year-old grandmother slips on a wet floor at home. She cannot stand. The family is told surgery is risky at her age, so they decide to "keep her in bed and let it join". Six weeks later she has bedsores, a chest infection and a leg that has not healed. I see versions of this story far too often. In most older patients, the safer path is the one that sounds riskier: surgery, done early. Types of hip fracture Neck of femur fracture: just below the ball of the hip joint. Often treated by replacing the ball (hemiarthroplasty or hip replacement). Intertrochanteric fracture: a little lower, through the bony prominence. Usually fixed with a nail or plate. Subtrochanteric fracture: just below that, in the upper shaft. Seen both in older people with weak bones and in younger people after road accidents. Acetabulum fracture: a break in the socket of the hip joint, part of the pelvis. Common after high-energy injuries, but also seen after simple falls in older p...