Internal fixators: a safe option for managing distal femur fractures?

• Autor(a) principal: Batista,Bruno Bellaguarda
• Data de Publicação: 2014
• Outros Autores: Salim,Rodrigo, Paccola,Cleber Antonio Jansen, Kfuri Junior,Mauricio
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Acta Ortopédica Brasileira (Online)
• Texto Completo: http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1413-78522014000300159
• topic: Femur; Internal fixators; Bone plates

OBJECTIVE: Evaluate safety and reliability of internal fixator for the treatment of intra-articular and periarticular distal femur fractures. METHODS: Retrospective data evaluation of 28 patients with 29 fractures fixed with internal fixator was performed. There was a predominance of male patients (53.5%), with 52% of open wound fractures, 76% of AO33C type fractures, and a mean follow up of 21.3 months. Time of fracture healing, mechanical axis deviation, rate of infection and postoperative complications were registered. RESULTS: Healing rate was 93% in this sample, with an average time of 5.5 months. Twenty-seven percent of patients ended up with mechanical axis deviation, mostly resulting from poor primary intra-operative reduction. There were two cases of implant loosening; two implant breakage, and three patients presented stiff knee. No case of infection was observed. Healing rate in this study was comparable with current literature; there was a high degree of angular deviation, especially in the coronal plane. CONCLUSION: Internal fixators are a breakthrough in the treatment of knee fractures, but its use does not preclude application of principles of anatomical articular reduction and mechanical axis restoration. Level of Evidence II, Retrospective Study.