OBJECTIVETo study the effect of minimally invasive treatment with the locking compression plate (LCP) in the treatment of intertrochanteric fractures in the elderly age.

METHODSTwenty-eight cases of intertrochanteric fracture were retrospective studied from August 2007 to January 2009, included 13 males and 15 females with an average age of 78.6 years ranging from 70 to 102 years. All the 28 patients were treated with minimally invasive operations with locking compression plates. The time from injury to operation was ranged from 3 to 8 days (with an average of 4.5 days).

RESULTSThe operation time was from 40 to 90 minutes (with an average of 55 minutes). The average bleeding volume during the operation was 70 ml (from 50 to 150 ml). One patient died during hospital stay. Twenty-five patients were followed up from 6 months to 2 years with an average of 15 months after operation. The fracture healing time was from 10 to 12 weeks (10.4 weeks in average). According to an evaluation standard of HUANG Gong-yi, the results were excellent in 20 cases,good in 4 cases, poor in 1 case.

CONCLUSIONMinimally invasive approaches with LCP could treat the elder intertrochanteric fractures with the advantages such as minimal invasive, stable fixation and less blood loss.