Retrograde Versus Antegrade Nailing of Femoral Shaft Fractures

• DOI: 10.1097/bot.0b013e31816c0255
• Publication Date: 2009-03-05T13:03:10Z
• Authors: William M Ricci; Carlo Bellabarba; Bradley Evanoff; Dolfi Herscovici; Thomas DiPasquale; Roy Sanders
• Keywords: Malunion; Femoral shaft

Objectives: To compare union rates and complications of retrograde intramedullary nailing femoral shaft fractures with those antegrade nailing. Design: Retrospective. Setting: Level I trauma center. Patients: Two hundred eighty-three consecutive adult patients 293 the who underwent stabilization or inserted nails were studied. There 140 153 nails. Twelve in twelve excluded (three died early postoperative period, three because amputation, four paraplegic, two fractured through abnormal bone owing to metastatic carcinoma), leaving 134 treated 147 One femurs (Group R) ninety-four A) had sufficient follow-up served as study groups. The average clinical was twenty-three months (range 6 66 months) for Group R 5 64 A. Both groups comparable regard age, gender, number open fractures, degree comminution, mode interlocking (i.e., static dynamic), nail diameter (P > 0.05). Intervention: Retrograde intercondylar notch knee, pirformis fossa using standard techniques. Main Outcome Measures: Union, delayed union, nonunion, malunion, complication rates. Results: After index procedure there no significant differences healing incidence malunion between A Healing after occurred ninety-one (88 percent) eighty-four (89 In R, seven unions (7 six nonunions (6 percent). A, (4 ultimately 100 (96 from ninety-three (99 eleven malunions (11 percent), (13 When ipsilateral knee injuries excluded, pain significantly greater (36 than (9 < 0.001). hip (10 Conclusions: techniques provided similar results more related