Periprosthetic fractures following hip and knee arthroplasty are potentially severe complications. As a fundament in diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, specific classification systems are necessary to ensure an optimal individualized treatment of these sometimes complicated fractures. This review article summarizes the epidemiological aspects, risk factors and diagnostics of periprosthetic hip and knee fractures. The most frequently used location related fracture classifications systems are explained. In addition, the recently introduced unified classification system (UCS), which is applicable to any location of periprosthetic fractures, is described in detail. Initial studies have shown a reliable applicability of the UCS to periprosthetic hip and knee fractures.
Keywords: Differentiated therapy concepts; Specific classification system; Unified classification system; Unified terminology; X ray imaging.