Treatment of pathological humeral shaft fractures with intramedullary nailing. A retrospective study.

A consecutive series of 22 pathological fractures of the humeral shaft in 21 patients treated at one institution were included in this retrospective study. Patients were treated with anterograde locked intramedullary nailing. Mean follow-up was 22.7 months (range 3-60). Mean VAS score improved from 89.5 (range 80-100) to 14.5 (range 0-40). In most patients there was a satisfactory return to daily activities within six weeks of surgery. Seventeen of 19 patients reported to be satisfied. Mean duration of hospitalization after surgery was 4.3 days (range 2-15). There were no complications related to the implants. There were no operative complications and the average operation time was 48 minutes (range 35-160). The consolidation rate was 80%. We emphasize that suspicion of fracture and interdisciplinary work between oncologists and orthopaedic surgeons are of crucial importance for survival time and individual treatment.