The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, Vol 73, Issue 3 332-340, Copyright © 1991 by Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, Inc
Interlocking intramedullary nailing for supracondylar and intercondylar fractures of the distal part of the femur
KS Leung, WY Shen, WS So, LT Mui and A Grosse
Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Prince of Wales Hospital, Shatin, Hong Kong.
Thirty-seven fractures of the distal part of the femur in thirty-five
patients were treated with interlocking intramedullary nailing. All
fractures were nailed by a closed technique after any intercondylar
extension of the fracture had been managed by reduction and stabilization
with percutaneous lag-screws. Patients who had an isolated condylar
fracture or a severely comminuted intercondylar fracture were treated with
other types of implants. There were thirty extra-articular (type-A)
fractures and seven intra-articular (type-C1 and type-C2) fractures.
Postoperatively, early mobilization exercises and weight-bearing were
begun. At an average duration of follow-up of 20.5 months (range, fifteen
to twenty-six months), all thirty-seven fractures had healed. There were no
malunions of either the supracondylar or the intercondylar fractures.
Complications were infrequent and included chronic irritation from the
distal screws in three patients and delayed union in one; the latter healed
with two centimeters of shortening after bone-grafting. There were no
infections. The functional results were assessed with the modified
knee-rating system of The Hospital for Special Surgery. Thirteen knees (35
per cent) had an excellent result; twenty-two (59 per cent), a good result;
and two (5 per cent), a fair result. The results correlated with the age of
the patient and the presence of an intra-articular fracture. We concluded
that closed interlocking intramedullary nailing is an excellent technique
for both supracondylar and simple intercondylar fractures in which closed
reduction and percutaneous fixation of the articular fracture is possible.