RATIONALE Retrograde femoral nailing was one of the most important treatment means for distal femoral shaft fracture. However, studies regarding heterotopic ossification of the patellar tendon after retrograde intramedullary nailing for distal femoral shaft fracture are limited. We herein present a rare complication, namely heterotopic ossification of the patellar tendon, after retrograde intra...

BACKGROUND The use of a fracture table is standard for closed intramedullary nailing of femoral fractures. Instead of a fracture table, some clinicians have successfully performed this operation in the supine position via manual traction. Here, we present our experience performing this operation in the lateral decubitus position without a fracture table. METHODS From December 2001 to November...

Interlocking nailing is a widely accepted and performed treatment for tibial shaft fractures. The addition of percutaneously placed transfixation screws increases the stabilisation provided by intramedullary nailing; however, the technical complexity associated with the procedure has introduced new potential complications. We report a pseudoaneurysm of the anterior tibial artery caused by a pro...

BACKGROUND There are many methods for treating femoral shaft aseptic nonunions of which exchange nailing is the simplest technique. However, the reported success rate varies. Therefore, a prospective study was conducted to further clarify the role of exchange nailing. METHODS From October 1994 through December 1999, 40 femoral shaft aseptic nonunions in 39 patients were treated using exchange...

Some tibial shaft fractures cannot be accurately reduced using closed or percutaneous techniques during an intramedullary nailing procedure. Under these circumstances, a formal open reduction can be performed. Direct exposure of the fracture facilitates accurate reduction but does violate the soft tissue envelope. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of open reducti...

The femoral head receives the majority of its blood supply via branches of the medial femoral circumflex artery, whose course runs across the piriformis fossa and along the superior aspect of the femoral neck. Cadaveric studies have demonstrated damage to the medial femoral circumflex artery in cases where the piriformis fossa was the entry point for intramedullary nailing. Although well recogn...

INTRODUCTION: It is common knowledge that the fracture healing process is strongly influenced by the mechanical behaviour of the bone implant complex (BIC) due to the resulting interfragmentary movement (IFM) of the bone fragments at the fracture site. Unreamed intramedullary nailing reduces the disturbance of blood supply in comparison to reamed nailing but leads to a more flexible stabilizati...

PURPOSE To evaluate whether the operating time correlates with the survival and outcome in patients who underwent intramedullary nailing for metastatic femoral fractures. METHODS Records of 10 men and 11 women aged 43 to 86 (mean, 66) years who underwent intramedullary nailing (4 bilaterally) for metastatic femoral fractures between 1999 and 2003 were reviewed. The patients were followed up f...

PURPOSE To compare closed intramedullary nailing to open reduction and internal fixation using a fixed angle blade plate for the management of subtrochanteric femoral fractures. METHODS 58 patients were equally randomised to undergo either an intramedullary nailing (IN) or fixed angle blade plating (BP). RESULTS There were no significant differences between the 2 groups with regard to age, ...

intramedullary nailing of femoral shaft fractures, first introduced by Hey Groves in 1918 and later popularised by K#{252}ntscher (1940, 1958, 1967), B#{246}hler (1951), Street (1951) and Lottes ( 1953), is in most current textbooks described as a routine surgical operation. It is regarded as the method of choice in transverse and short oblique fractures of the femoral shaft (B#{246}hler 1951 :...