People always think that a fracture of the “crotch shaft” (medically called a femoral neck fracture) is not a serious fracture and is “far from the heart”! In fact, a fracture of the neck of the femur is a fatal disease in the elderly, and experienced orthopedic surgeons often refer to a fracture of the neck of the femur in the elderly as a “terminal fracture”. The best way to treat femoral neck fractures is surgery. But unfortunately, many people in China are afraid of surgery, especially for the elderly. They believe that the risk of surgery is too great for the elderly, and that bed rest and conservative treatment are the safest, fearing that surgery will kill them. In fact, this is a serious mistake. On the contrary, modern medicine has proved that it is the most dangerous to take conservative treatment precautions for femoral neck fractures in the elderly. This is because, firstly, there is almost no possibility of healing of femoral neck fractures in the elderly; secondly, it is difficult for the elderly to pass the long-term bed rest. A significant portion of the elderly and their families do not understand the risks of long-term bed rest for the elderly, and are worried that the elderly will not be able to withstand the blows of surgery and miss the best time for surgery. Only when the elderly have many complications do they find out about artificial joint replacement, but it is too late. By this time, the elderly person is no longer safe to undergo surgery. In clinical practice, there are many heartbreaking examples of people who missed the best time for surgery and died a few months later. The best treatment for femoral neck fractures in the elderly is artificial hip replacement. The technology of this surgery is very mature, the trauma is minimal, the risk is not great, and the results are excellent. It can be done in less than an hour, with less than 200 ml of bleeding, and you can be on the floor in 2-3 days after the surgery, with little or no impact on your quality of life. However, it is best to undergo the surgery within 72 hours of the injury. Why is it important to operate within 72 hours? Because generally, within 72 hours after the injury, except for the fracture injury, the elderly’s general condition has not yet changed qualitatively, and the risk of surgery is the lowest at that time. However, when the elderly are bedridden for 72 hours, the body after trauma will be like bungee jumping and will quickly go to collapse, and various life-threatening complications will soon appear. This is because a femoral neck fracture, although not very traumatic, directly results in the patient having to be passively bedridden for a long time. The elderly, once bedridden for a long time will rapidly develop metabolic disorders of cardiopulmonary function, decubitus ulcers, pneumonia, urinary tract infections, blood clots and a series of other secondary diseases, any one of which can take the life of the elderly! Therefore, the best way to treat femoral neck fractures in the elderly is to perform an artificial joint replacement within 72 hours.