60 patients from Nepal with trochanteric fractures of the femur were randomized to receive either external fixation or a sliding hip screw as fracture treatment. The time between injury and operation, duration of surgery, amount of blood loss, length of hospital stay, and the cost of treatment were significantly greater in the sliding hip screw group. There were no differences in range of movement, mean Harris hip scores, and Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis index knee scores between the groups at 6 months post-surgery. 18 patients in the external fixation group had pin-track infections compared to a single wound inflection in the sliding hip screw group.