Functional outcome of type a and type c supracondylar fractures of femur treated by retrograde intramedullary nailing technique

Abstract

Background: Distal femoral fractures historically have been difficult to treat. Because of the proximity to the knee joint, regaining full knee motion and function is difficult. Controversy remains regarding the optimum device among various fixation devices available for distal femoral fixation. Retrograde nailing has shown to be the optimal device for this fracture. Hence this study was conducted to analyze the functional outcome Muller’s type A and C distal femoral fractures treated with retrograde intramedullary nailing. Materials and methods: The study was conducted in a tertiary referral institute between January 2010 to December 2015. This study was conducted in a retrospective and prospective manner. Retrograde nailing was performed on a total of 43 patients presenting with supracondylar and intra condylar fractures of distal femur. Cases were followed up till December 2016. 3 of our patient lost to follow up. Outcome was assessed by using Neer’s scoring system. Results: All patients were followed up for an average of 15 months. There were 30 type A and 10 type C AO fractures. All the fractures eventually healed with an average time to union of 15 weeks. Using Neer’s scoring system there were 22(55%) excellent, 12 (30%) good, 4(10%) fair and 2 (5%) poor results. Conclusion: Retrograde nailing makes biological osteosynthesis of distal femoral fractures with less Periosteal stripping, less blood loss, lesser need for none grafting, decreased operative time and very low late varus collapse rates.