The Use of Finite Element Method to Address Proximal Migration of Femoral Neck Fracture Fixation Devices in the Elderly

Falls among the elderly are a common occurrence and the incidence rate is increasing with our aging population. In such a population, a fall may precipitate a femoral neck fracture which may be treated by any one of a variety of femoral screw/plate mechanisms. Unfortunately, such mechanisms can fail in service as the device migrates proximally eventually requiring a secondary and more invasive surgery. In the current study we propose a new design to address this failure mechanism and we use a simple finite element model to study a modification to the current design.