Introduction:

Fractures of the distal end of the femur are disabling injuries, among them the Hoffa's fracture is an infrequent condition difficult to diagnose and treat.

Objective: to update on the most important elements of this traumatic entity.

Methods:

The search and analysis of the information was carried out over a period of 60 days (November 1 to December 30, 2020) and the following words were used: Hoffa's fracture, AND distal femur fracture, based on the information obtained, a bibliographic review of a total of 529 articles published in the PubMed, Hinari, SciELO and Medline databases using the search manager and reference manager EndNote, 37 selected citations were used to perform the review, 35 of the last five years.

Results:

The mechanism of high and low energy production was mentioned. Reference was made to classifications based on plain radiography and computed tomography. The main entities associated with the Hoffa's fracture were exposed. In relation to treatment, conservative and surgical modalities were mentioned, in the latter, the approach routes according to the location and type of fracture, with special emphasis on arthroscopic surgery.

Conclusions:

Hoffa fracture is an infrequent injury caused by a high energy production mechanism and occasionally associated with other traumatic entities. The treatment of this condition is generally surgical; the modality to be used is based on the geometric configuration of the fracture.

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