Hello and welcome to the zero to finals podcast. My name is Tom and in this episode I'm going to be

talking to you about hip fractures. And you can find written notes on this topic at zero to finals.com

slash hip fractures or in the orthopedic section of the zero to finals surgery book.

So let's get straight into it.

Hip fractures are common and lead to significant morbidity and mortality.

The 30-day mortality of a hip fracture is 5 to 10%.

Half of patients become less independent after a hip fracture is 5 to 10%. Half of patients become less independent after a hip fracture.

Increasing age and osteoporosis are major risk factors for hip fractures. Females are affected more

often than males. Due to the morbidity and mortality of hip fractures,

they are generally prioritised on the trauma list

with the aim to perform surgery within 48 hours.

There is a medical specialty called ortho geriatrics,

and this medical specialty focuses on identifying

and optimizing the medical comorbidities and complications of inpatients on the orthopedic ward, particularly elderly patients with hip fractures.

A very important aspect of hip fractures is that they can be categorized into intra-capsular fractures and extra-capsular fractures.

Let's start by talking about some basic anatomy. There are some basic structures at the top of the

femur, the head of the femur, the neck of the femur, the greater tricanter on the lateral side, the lesser trachanter on the

medial side, the intertrocenteric line, and the shaft, which is the body of the femur.

The capsule of the joint is a strong fibrous structure. It attaches to the rim of the acetabulum on the pelvis and to the

intertrocentic line on the femur. The capsule surrounds the neck and the head of the femur.

The head of the femur has a retrograde blood supply. The medial and lateral circumflex femoral arteries join the femoral neck

just proximal to the intertrocenteric line. Branches of this artery run along the surface of the

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