Treatment of ipsilateral hip and femoral shaft fractures with reconstructive intramedullary interlocking nail.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the results of reconstructive intramedullary interlocking nail in the treatment of ipsilateral hip and femoral shaft fractures.

METHODS

From August 1997 to November 2001, 13 patients were treated with the reconstructive intramedullary interlocking nail. Nine patients were associated with ipsilateral femoral neck fractures, three with ipsilateral intertrochanteric fractures, and one with subtrochanteric fracture.

RESULTS

The follow-up time was from 6 to 38 months with an average of 14 months. All the femoral shaft and hip fractures healed up well. There was no nonunion of the femoral neck, and only one varus malunion. No patient had avascular necrosis of the femoral head. The average healing time for femoral neck fracture was 4.6 months and for shaft fracture 5.8 months. The joint movement and other functions were fairly resumed.

CONCLUSIONS

The reconstructive intramedullary interlocking nail, with less trauma, reliable fixation, and high rate of fracture healing, is an ideal method of choice in the treatment of ipsilateral hip and femoral shaft fractures.