Curriculum · Musculoskeletal / Orthopedic / Rheumatology
Femoral neck fracture
What it is
A femoral neck fracture is one of the types of hip fracture, alongside the intertrochanteric and subtrochanteric fractures of the femur. It is the type that does not heal, and the reason is its blood supply.
Causes and risk
It follows a fall, and the patient is typically elderly. A fall at home or in a nursing home, then the emergency department, is the usual story.
How it presents
Two classical signs are described in patients presenting with this fracture: shortening of the limb, and an externally rotated lower limb.