Successful treatment of a challenging periprosthetic femoral fracture on a premenopausal patient with a long history of immunosuppression

Abstract

While immunosuppression provides relief and care in patients with rheumatic arthritis, the prolonged usage of steroids has been known to cause various and serious complications. While in older patients it is common to find those with a long history of immunosuppression, younger patients also suffer from its prolonged complications. We present a 38 year old heavily immunocompromised female patient with excellent compliance on which we operated on multiple occasions and have treated from 2019 to 2022. The patient was originally diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis at age 7, and has been receiving high dose immunosuppressive medication. The patient received bilateral total hip arthroplasty during 2009 and 2013, and a Total Knee Arthroplasty (TKE) in 2011. Over the course of her postoperative recovery, she suffered from multiple cases of periprosthetic fractures. In October 2019, the patient again presented with spontaneous pain in her right thigh. She was then diagnosed with a Vancouver C type periprosthetic fracture on the right femur, and was referred and admitted to our level one Trauma Center in Szeged, Hungary. After multiple trials, the patient received a Locking Compression Plate (LCP) type Proximal Femoral Hook Plate (PFHP) with cable fixation, attachments and a bone allograft to reinforce stability and neutralize stress on the fractured area.  Multiple and repetitive challenges can be expected in treating bony fractures of weight bearing lower limbs for heavily immunocompromised patients. The patient, despite her young age, had the osteological biology of a elderly patient, requiring us to take into consideration not only surgical components but biological components as well. With a multidisciplinary approach from osteological, biological, and surgical fields, successful results may be acquired even in these challenging cases.