Occult femoral neck fracture

Description 

A 77-year-old woman presented to the emergency department with persistent pain that developed in the right hip after a fall from a standing height. A radiograph and CT of the right hip revealed no evidence of fracture (figure 1A,B), but MRI revealed oedema of the right femoral neck (T1-weighted coronal imaging; figure 1C). She was treated with osteosynthesis (figure 1D) to stabilise the femoral neck fracture, which resulted in a good functional outcome at 6-month follow-up.

Figure 1

(A) A radiograph of the right hip revealed no evidence of fracture. (B) A CT of the right hip revealed no evidence of fracture. (C) MRI (T1-weighted coronal imaging) revealed oedema of the right femoral neck. (D) Patient was treated with osteosynthesis.

Occult femoral neck fractures are frequently misdiagnosed.1 Once misdiagnosed, the non-displaced fracture may become...

http://ift.tt/2oPpl42