A prospective single-blinded case control study was performed. Patients with intertrochanteric (IT) hip fractures who underwent surgical fixation with 4-hole DHS system in a tertiary referral hospital between January 2019 and April 2023 were identified and evaluated for inclusion in this trial. All cases were performed by Senior Orthopaedic Surgery Residents (Orthopaedic Surgery Registrars) of similar experience levels. Patients with complex fractures requiring open reduction were excluded from the study. The study protocol was approved by the Domain Specific Review Board (DSRB) of the institution under Reference number 2023/00715.
2.1 Novel Technique for Planning Minimally Invasive Surgical Fixation of Hip Fractures
The authors propose a novel MIDHS technique for treating IT hip fractures, that considers the trajectory of the guidewire in all 3 planes – coronal, sagittal and axial, before any incision is made.
Cases were performed either under general or spinal anaesthesia. Prior to starting surgery, patients were positioned on a radiolucent fracture table, and all fractures were successfully reduced by closed manipulation under fluoroscopic control to 10 degrees of valgus on AP radiographs and < 58 degrees of posterior angulation on lateral radiographs. The skin surface markings were performed prior to preparation of the surgical field. The intra-operative imaging that was performed during the drawing of the skin markings were performed with the primary surgeon fully protected and comfortable, without wearing lead gown and thyroid shield yet, by standing behind panelled lead shields and/or outside the theatre leaded doors. The primary surgeon re-positioned the protractor as required in between imaging shots. Only the surgical assistant was required to hold a long rod for the purpose of achieving the lateral femur axis marking in the Clements-Nakayama view. 17
Antero-posterior surface marking – Coronal consideration of plate position
A metal (stainless steel) protractor that was commercially purchased, was adjusted to the desired pre-templated degree – 135 or 150 degrees and laid directly on top of the patient. Antero-posterior (AP) intraoperative imaging (II) X-rays were taken to obtain and mark the surface position of the DHS plate (Figures 2 and 3). The vertical limb of the protractor was overlaid on the patient’s lateral femoral cortex with the vertical limb overlaid on the patient’s lateral femoral cortex, and the caput-collum-diaphyseal (CCD) line at the desired height, typically in the lower half of femoral neck and head region (Figure 2). The metallic nature of a protractor provided a satisfactory semi-lucent appearance, overlayed clearly over the femur, on the fluoroscopic image taken.
Lateral surface marking – Sagittal and Axial consideration of plate position
With the Clements-Nakayama method 17 – a modified form of lateral view, resulted in a patient specific view of a collinear femoral head to the femoral shaft, which allowed the surgeon to take into consideration the amount of anteversion the specific patient had. With the II in the Clements-Nakayama tilt, a straight ruler was then used to mark the mid shaft of the femur along this view (Figure 4).
Trigonometrical surface marking – (a) Entry point of guidewire trajectory on skin surface (b) Length of potential incision
(a) The intersection of the extrapolation of the oblique CCD line distally, to meet the Lateral surface marking line, would be the Entry point of the guidewire trajectory on skin surface (Figure 4). This accounted for the thickness of the subcutaneous tissues and musculature of the specific patient.
(b) A perpendicular line, from the junction of the vertical limb and CCD angle, was made posteriorly, to meet the Lateral surface marking line.
The line between (a) and (b) – the Liau line – was the length of the potential skin incision to be made (Figure 4). In practice, depending on the thickness, and the turgor of the patient’s soft tissues, this line can be shortened up to 1-2cm proximally, and 2-4cm distally, and retractors may be used to allow for implant insertion.
Skin preparation was then done carefully, to avoid erasure of the markings during cleansing. Intra-operatively, after skin incision and exposure, the surgeon may additionally use a free K-wire, and insert it freehand, anterior to the cortex of the femur, to end in the femoral head. This served as a secondary visual guide for the anteversion of the guidewire to be inserted.
This abovementioned method enables surgeons to ascertain a more precise location and trajectory of the guidewire, starting from the entry point on the skin. This allows for a potentially smaller minimally invasive surgical incision. By accurately placing the guidewire with confidence on the first try, it allows surgeons to know the exact distal length of incision required for the DHS plate leading to reduction in soft tissue dissection.
2.2 Pre-operative Parameters
Pre-operative clinical data for both groups is presented in Table 1. Participants’ age, gender, body mass index (BMI), and premorbid ambulatory status were recorded. Participants’ comorbidities were summarised into a score using the Charlson comorbidity index, alongside an estimated 10-year survival rate which was calculated.
2.3 Surgical Outcome Assessment
Post-operatively, patients received the same treatment and standard rehabilitation protocol established at the tertiary referral hospital. Surgical duration was defined as knife to skin, to completion of skin closure. All patients had their wounds closed in layers, with sutures only - no staplers were used. In all cases, AP and lateral radiographs were obtained post-operatively to assess fracture fixation and implant positioning. Pre- and post-operative haemoglobin levels were measured to assess the amount of blood loss. Two independent assessors measured the TAD using the post-operative AP and lateral radiographs. Discrepancies of > 2mm between the measurements by the two assessors were identified and remeasured. The Kyle’s classification was used to group the IT fractures into four categories – 1, stable 2-part IT fractures without displacement and tearing; 2, stable 3-part IT fractures with displacement and minimal tearing; 3, unstable 4-part IT fractures with displacement and posterior-medial breakage; 4, unstable 4-part IT fractures with posterior displacement, posterior-medial breakage and inferior-trochanterion component. 18
2.4 Statistical Analysis
IBM SPSS Statistics 26.0 for Mac (SPSS, Chicago, IL, USA) was used for the statistical analysis. Since variables had a frequency of five or more, the chi-squared test was used. Mann-Whitney U-test was used to analyse the continuous variables of non-parametric data. 95% confidence interval was used to provide us with the likely values of the true population mean. The significance tests for each were all two-tailed. Statistically significant difference was defined as p-value < 0.05.