Intracapsular Fractures

Types of intracapsular fractures include:

• Subcapital
• Transcervical
• Basal/Basicervical

What is the importance of an intracapsular fracture?

The importance of an intracapsular fracture is that a large proportion of the blood supply to the head of the femur comes via the capsule. In a retrograde direction from the medial circumflex branch of the femoral artery, which is considered to be disrupted in intracapsular fractures, especially those with displacement. As a consequence there is a risk of non-union and avascular necrosis.

For this reason, arthroplasty (either hemiarthroplasty or total hip replacement) may be indicated for these fractures.

Learning bite

There is a high risk of avascular necrosis and non-union in intracapsular fractures.