Do atypical femoral fractures in patients with prolonged alendronate treatment heal?
O. Şahap Atik, Akif M. Öztürk, Cemalettin Kunat, Mehmet Çetinkaya, Yiğit Kaptan
Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology, Medical Faculty of Gazi University, Ankara, Turkey
Keywords: Atypical femoral fracture; fracture healing; prolonged alendronate therapy.
Abstract
Osteoporosis, which is a major health problem, may have an adverse impact on the economic status of the society and the quality of the life of the patients. Long-term alendronate use may cause an increased susceptibility to fractures with an increased risk of delayed union. In this article, we describe two patients on long-term alendronate therapy which were treated for atypical femoral fractures healed with surgical treatment plus calcium, vitamin D support, and alendronate discontinuation.