Intramedullary Nailing for Atypical Femoral Fracture with Excessive Anterolateral Bowing.

BACKGROUND: Intramedullary nailing is the treatment of choice for atypical femoral fractures. However, several problems, such as iatrogenic fracture and medial gap opening, can occur during intramedullary nailing when atypical femoral fractures are associated with excessive anterolateral bowing. To overcome these problems, we have developed a new grading system for anterolateral femoral bowing and a new technique for intramedullary nailing. The core of this new technique is matching the anterior curvature of the femoral nail with the anterolateral bowing of the femur when the nail passes the apex of the curvature, by rotating the nail externally. METHODS: From January 2005 through March 2016, 24 female patients (30 cases) who underwent a surgical procedure for atypical femoral fracture with anterolateral bowing at 2 institutes were evaluated. The postoperative outcomes (anterolateral bowing grade, anterior and lateral bowing angles, medial gap and posterior gap of the fracture site, iatrogenic fracture, and time to initial medial callus formation and osseous union) were compared between the new technique (18 cases) and the conventional technique (12 cases). RESULTS: With regard to the reliability of the new grading system, the interobserver and intraobserver reliability of the new grading system demonstrated an almost perfect agreement (kappainter = 0.893, kappaintra = 0.883). For patients with complete fractures, the differences between the preoperative and postoperative anterior and lateral bowing angles were significantly less (p = 0.013 for both) in the new technique group. The medial and posterior gaps at the fracture site were also significantly less in the new technique group (p = 0.013 for the medial gaps and p = 0.022 for the posterior gaps). Iatrogenic fracture occurred only in the conventional technique group, affecting 2 cases. The time to initial medial callus formation was significantly shorter (p = 0.033) in the new technique group compared with the conventional technique group. CONCLUSIONS: Our new grading system for anterolateral femoral bowing is convenient and reliable. Furthermore, the new intramedullary nailing technique with the current intramedullary nail system is appropriate for the repair of atypical femoral fractures with excessive anterolateral bowing. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Therapeutic Level III. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.

Removal of a broken trigen intertan intertrochanteric antegrade nail.

Implant breakage is a serious complication after cephalomedullary nailing for unstable intertrochanteric fracture. Failure usually occurs at the lag screw hole in the nail body. On the other hand, lag screw failure is extremely rare and occurs around the nail-lag screw junction. We experienced rare mechanical failure of the Intertan nail, which showed breakage at the lag screw hole and failure of the integrated compression screw underneath the main lag screw.

A blocking-wire technique for removal of a broken hollow intramedullary nail.

We present a simple method to remove the distal portion of the broken nail just using the bulb-tipped guide pin and a blocking Kirschner wire. At first, we removed the proximal part of the broken nail and all interlocking screws. Next, we introduced the bulb-tipped guide wire into the distal part of the nail with fluoroscopic guidance until it passed the interlocking hole that would be used. After snugly fitting the blocking Kirschner wire into the interlocking hole of the nail, the bulb-tipped guide wire is then pulled to engage the blocking wire complex in the interlocking hole. The bulb-tipped guide wire and broken nail are removed by sequential stroke using a ram.