Treatment of postoperative non-union with internal fixation loosening of Garden IV femoral neck fracture with teriparatide in a young adult: A case report

BACKGROUND: Postoperative non-union of femoral neck fracture often needs secondary operation. We report a case of a postoperative non-union of femoral neck fracture treated with teriparatide. CASE PRESENTATION: A young male patient with Garden IV femoral neck fracture who showed no obvious signs of healing 3 months after percutaneous hollow nail fixation in which the fracture line was enlarged and the hollow nail was withdrawn. Bone non-union healed after 6 months of continuous subcutaneous injection of teriparatide at a dosage of 20 mg/day after the patient refused a secondary surgery. As far as we know, there have been no relevant reports on this type of fracture yet. CONCLUSIONS: Teriparatide is expected to be beneficial in treating young patients with a displaced femoral neck fracture who have difficulty in healing from non-union and who are keen on avoiding secondary surgery.