Abstract:Objective To explore the biomechanical property of arthroplasty for unstable intertrochanteric fractures in the elderly through finite element analysis. Methods A healthy male volunteer was chosen and given spiral CT to his left femur. The 3D bone substance was obtained after the data were imported into Mimics 14.0. Then unstable intertrochanteric fracture model was obtained by the segmentation and other operation. According to the parameters of the prosthesis and the anatomical data of the femur, conventional type, lengthening type and cement prosthetic replacement models were obtained. The force situations were compared among the 3 prosthetic replacement models and normal femur model. Results The force situations were similar in both sides of the normal femur; the force was increased from proximal to distal femur and reached its peak in the middle and lower segment. The force distribution of the artificial femoral head replacement models was similar as the normal femur and the force peaks were located in the middle segment; the force of the proximal femur in the artificial femoral head replacement models was smaller than that in the normal femur, and the maximum equivalent stress on femur increased in the artificial hip prosthesis. The maximum equivalent stress on femur of the cement prosthetic replacement model (43.2 Mpa) was smaller than that of the conventional type (46.1 MPa) and the lengthening type (47.2 MPa) prosthetic replacement models. Conclusions The force distribution of artificial femoral head replacement models is similar to that of normal femur. It can provide stability in early postoperative period.