A Case Series: Femoral diaphyseal fractures in the paediatric age group treated using the titanium elastic nailing system

Dr. Jithin Jose Thomas; Dr. Radhakrishnan Paulraj

Volume : VIII, Issue : VII, July - 2019

A Case Series: Femoral diaphyseal fractures in the paediatric age group treated using the titanium elastic nailing system

Dr. Jithin Jose Thomas, Dr. Radhakrishnan Paulraj

Abstract :

Background: The management of femoral diaphyseal fractures in the age group of 6–16 years is highly debatable. Often treated conservatively, diaphyseal femur fractures are now increasingly managed surgically. Materials and Methods: Thirty–four children (29 boys, 5 girls) amid the ages of 5–16 years with femoral diaphyseal fractures, of which 6 were open and 28 were closed, were fixed using Titanium Elastic Nails (TEN). The fractures were in proximalthird (n=10), middle third (n=22) and in the distal third (n=2).Thirty–two patients underwent surgery within sevendays of their injuries. The result wasassessedby using Flynn‘s scoring criteria. With the help of Fischer‘s exact test, statistical analysis was completed. Results: All 34 patients were available for evaluation after a mean of 15 months (12–22 months) of follow–up.Radiological union wasseen in a mean duration of 8.9 weeks. Complete weight be� waspossible by an averageduration of 8.8 weeks. The average duration of hospital stay was 11.2 days. The results wereexcellent in 23 patients (67.7%), successful in 6 (17.6%) and poor in 5 patients (14.7%). Conclusion: In properly screened patients, amid the age group of 6–16 years, with diaphyseal fracture of the femur, intramedullary fixation with titanium elastic nailing is quite an effective mode of treatment.