Abstract
The purpose of this study is to show our experience with stainless steel flexible nails in the treatment of femoral shaft fractures in children aged between 5 and 12 years and to observe if the type of material used for nails affects the results. A prospective, descriptive study of a series of cases was performed to evaluate patients treated at the Hospital Universitario San Vicente de Paúl (HUSVP) who had been followed up for at least 24 months. The study group was composed of 48 patients, with an average age of 8.6 years. According to the AO classification, the most common type of fracture was 32A3.2 (61%). The average follow-up period was 43 months. The alterations observed were six cases of clinical length discrepancy, two cases of overgrowing, four cases of shortening, and two malunions in valgus. These alterations had no repercussion in the children's function. The follow-up is the main strength of this study, as it demonstrated that, 2 years after surgery. The results with stainless steel nails are as good as those with titanium nails with a shorter follow-up as reported in the literature. Given the high costs of osteosynthesis material in our country, the results of this study provide a less expensive alternative. Level of evidence IV, case series.
Highlights
Femoral shaft fractures amount to less than 2% of all fractures in children [1]
For femoral fractures in children aged between 5 and 14 years, surgical treatments have become popular in the last decade [7, 8] but there is still no standard treatment
This study is aimed at sharing our experience with stainless steel flexible nails in the treatment of femoral shaft fractures in children aged between 5 and 12 years at the Hospital Universitario San Vicente de Paul (HUSVP), J Child Orthop (2009) 3:129–135 and to show that our results are comparable to those published in previous studies, even if we have used a material more economical than titanium
Summary
Femoral shaft fractures amount to less than 2% of all fractures in children [1]. Their optimal treatment is controversial, and there is still no consensus on this issue. For femoral fractures in children aged between 5 and 14 years, surgical treatments have become popular in the last decade [7, 8] but there is still no standard treatment. Surgical treatments for this age range include, among others, plates [9], external fixators [10] and flexible intramedullary nails, the latter having some advantages over the former two methods [11]. This study is aimed at sharing our experience with stainless steel flexible nails in the treatment of femoral shaft fractures in children aged between 5 and 12 years at the Hospital Universitario San Vicente de Paul (HUSVP),
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