Treatment of pediatric femoral and tibial fractures with titanium elastic nails / 中华创伤杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To investigate the effect of intramedullary stabilization of lower limb fractures with titanium elastic nails (TENs) in children.Methods From June 2004 to October 2010,278 children were stabilized with TENs in our hospital,including 181 boys and 97 girlsat average age of 7.6 years (range,3.0-14 years).There were 162 patients with femoral fractures,of which 35 underwent open reduction and the rest closed reduction.There were 116 patients with tibial fractures,which was treated with closed reduction.Postoperative fixation lasted for 3-4 weeks.The mean hospital stay was seven days.Of all the patients,272 patients received the removal of the TENs six months after operation and 242 received more than one year of follow-up to have a further observation on the limb length,hip and knee mobility and gait condition in children.Results All the patients were followed up for 6-66 months (mean,33 months).All fractures were healed in good alignment without severe complications.There were no intraoperative complications like infections,delayed union,nonunion,TEN broken and femoral or tibial epiphysis injuries.Ten patients suffered from swell and skin irritation in the nail' s position 3-4 months after operation,and the nails were removed in advance.Nineteen patients showed unequal lengths ( within 1 cm) of the lower limbs,with normal function of the lower limb joint but with no obvious limp.According to the Flynn evaluation standard,the excellent and good rate was 100％.Conclusions Characterized by good stability,rapid healing,small incision,anatomic reduction,unimpaired periosteum,short hospital stay and few complications,intramedullary stabilization with titanium elastic nails can achieve effective fixation in the treatment of lower limb fractures in children.