A retrospective study was done in 30 patients with infected closed fractures treated initially by open reduction and internal fixation. Nineteen fractures involved the femur, 8 the tibia, 2 the radius and 1 the ulna. Twenty-five were diaphyseal and 5 metaphyseal. Twenty-two fractures had initially been treated with plating and 8 with intramedullary nailing. Thirteen patients presented in the acute phase and 17 in the subacute phase of infection. Twenty-two patients presented with low grade infection and 8 with florid infection. The commonest organism isolated was Staphylococcus aureus (80%), of which fifty four percent was resistant to Methicillin (MRSA). This study showed that 77% of infected fractures with a stable implant united even in the presence of infection.
We present the results of our experience in treating comminuted tibial shaft fractures with reamed interlocking intramedullary nail from September 1993 to December 1995. In this retrospective study, there were fifty patients with an average follow-up of 14.3 months (range six to twenty-eight months). Ninety-eight percent of the fractures were due to motor-vehicle accident with majority of the patients being motorcyclist (96%). Thirty-eight fractures were closed and twelve were open (Gustilo grade I--8; grade II--4); 44% of them had additional fractures or other injuries. According to Winquist-Hansen classification of diaphyseal fracture comminution, there were 24% type I; 18% type II; 26% type III and 32% type IV. The union rate was 98%. There were 6 infections, 2 superficial and 4 deep. All these infections arose from closed fractures, which was possibly due to the long operative time. No patients with open fractures, which underwent delayed nailing, had infection. One of the patient had severe deep infection which required early nail removal before union. Anterior knee pain following nailing occurred in 6% of the patients. The average hospital stay after operation was 3.4 days. Ninety-four percent of the patients had excellent to good functional outcome after nailing. The mean time to regain full range of movement of knee and ankle was 8.4 weeks. Patients were allowed full weight bearing in the average time of 10.7 weeks and the mean time to return to work was 24.7 weeks.
Closed intramedullary nailing is a successful method of treating adult femoral shaft fractures. In comminuted or segmental fractures, this operation is associated with an incidence of rotational malalignment and malunion. After locked nailing, this can only be corrected by further operation. A simple method of judging and obtaining rotational alignment in such cases intra-operatively is described. A comparison of two groups of patients with such fractures, one using this technique and the other using conventional methods of judging alignment, revealed statistically significant improvement in rotational alignment (p = 0.016).
A prospective study of 25 patients with supracondylar and intercondylar fracture of the femur was carried out from January 1999 to June 2003 at SSG Hospital, Baroda, India. Twenty-eight percent fractures were open and 72% were closed. Twelve pecent of the fractures had intraarticular extension. AO classification was used to classify the fractures. Eighty-four percent of the fractures were due to high velocity trauma. All the cases were operated by percutaneous supracondylar nailing. No postoperative complication related to fracture treatment was seen. Average follow up was 20.1 months (range 6-40 months). Average age of the patients was 31.5 years. Average time of union was 3.1 months (range 2-4 months). Average knee range of motion was 117 degrees. Even in open injuries, 85.7% had more than 110 infinity range of motion. All patients could return to their pre-injury lifestyle. Rating scale developed by Hospital for Special Surgery was used to quantify the results. Eighty-four percent showed excellent, 8% showed good and 8% showed fair results. Percutaneous supracondylar nailing is thus, an excellent method of treating fractures of distal femur.
This is the first time we encountered a peculiar case of osteomyelitis complicating a closed fracture. The patient was a 38 year-old lady who presented just like any other patient with a closed fracture of the right femur. Intraoperatively we were surprised to find pus from the fracture site. This not only changed the surgical management but altered the subsequent outcome as well.