Nonunion of Adult Forearm Fractures: Evaluation of Intramedullary Nailing With Grafting as a Treatment Option.

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate the effectiveness of intramedullary nailing combining with iliac or fibular autograft for the treatment of adult forearm nonunions.

DESIGN

Retrospective case series.

SETTING

Two academic trauma referral centers.

PATIENT SELECTION CRITERIA: Adult patients who sustained surgical treatment for forearm fracture (OTA/AO 2R2-2U2) nonunion with intramedullary nailing and grafting from May 2005 to January 2023 were included.

OUTCOME MEASURES AND COMPARISONS: The primary outcome was to determine the bone union rates after nonunion surgery with intramedullary nail and grafting. Secondary outcomes were to assess functional scores including The Visual Analog Score; the shortened version of the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand (QuickDASH) questionnaire; Grace-Eversmann evaluation criteria.

RESULTS

The study included 24 patients comprising 19 men and 5 women (7 radius, 14 ulna, 3 both bones) with an average age at the time of surgery of 40.5 ± 11.2 years (range, 23-61 years) and union was achieved for 24 out of 27 bones (88.8%) in 22 out of 24 patients. The mean (average) preoperative and postoperative QuickDASH scores were found as 64.5 ± 18.2 and 15.3 ± 18.9, respectively. The functional improvement was found statistically significant ( P < 0.001). The mean (average) preoperative and postoperative Visual Analog Score was found to be 7.2 ± 2.1 and 1.52 ± 1.5, respectively. The difference was found statistically significant ( P < 0.001). Two cases of radius nonunion healed with 10 degrees and 15 degrees of angulation and shortening, while nonunion persisted in 2 patients. All remaining cases healed without deformity. Excellent to acceptable results were obtained for 83.3% of patients according to Grace-Eversmann criteria.

CONCLUSONS: Intramedullary nailing with autologous grafting is a viable option for the treatment of adult forearm nonunions.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Therapeutic Level IV. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.