Removal Methods for Broken Proximal Femoral Nails Using Ball Tip Guide Wire: Technical Note and Two Cases Report

Recently, the use of intramedullary nailing for proximal femoral fractures has increased. Breakage of the nail usually occurs at the un-united fracture site, and it is a rare complication of intramedullary nailing of the femur. However, removal of the distal fragment of a broken nail is a challenging problem. Herein, the authors describe the methods used for removal of relatively fixed or strongly fixed broken intramedullary nails in two different cases.

Simple Method for the Extraction of the Broken Intramedullary Nail of Femur: Case Report / 대한정형외과학회잡지

If the intramedullary nail fails for any reason, the broken nail must be removed by a closed or open manner to perform the next procedure for osteosynthesis. Numerous techniques have been introduced but the removal was difficult to do without special equipment. We have successfully removed the distal segment only with the olive tipped and straight guide rod which are ordinary equipment for intramedullary nailing. We found that this is a very simple, safe and economic method for retrieval of the distal fragment of broken femoral and tibial nails.