Management of type-II open fracture shaft of femur with intramedullary interlocking nail

ABSTRACT

To find out frequency of fracture healing with the use of interlocking intramedullary nailing in type-II open fracture shaft of femur. Descriptive case series. Orthopaedic Surgery, Unit I Civil Hospital, Karachi, from August 2009 to August 2010. Sixty-five patients who sustained type-II open fracture of shaft of femur, were selected. All patients underwent fracture stabilization by locking intramedullary nail. The main outcome measure was fracture healing [i.e. callus formation] on x-ray at six months of follow-up. The SPSS version 13 was applied used to analyze data. Majority of the patients [44.6%] were between 18-30 years of age. Males were affected more than females with male to female ratio of 41. Road traffic accidents were responsible for these fractures in 73.8% of cases. Healing [i.e. callus formation] was achieved in 61[93.8%] patients radiographically at the end of six-months. Mean time to union was 18.5 weeks. Intramedullary interlocking nail was safe and effective in the management of type-II open fractures of femur shaft with excellent healing rates