With the advent of good designs of nails, straight and angled in the arena of treatment for fractures from surgical neck of humerus to approximately 5 cm above the olecranon fossa, nailing is gaining popularity in recent literature. Many different nails are available in market with different proximal and distal locking configurations. Beach chair and supine are the main principle positions for antegrade humerus nailing. Beach chair or supine is the preferred position by many, but there is always difficulty in distal locking by free hand technique as it is difficult to locate the distal locking hole due to rounded smooth anatomy of anterior distal humerus and fear of neurovascular complications in both anteroposterior and latero-medial locking. The aim of this article is to demonstrate the utility of lateral position in ease of nailing all types of humerus fractures. The technique and illustrations below describe the positioning of patient, image intensifier and free hand postero-anterior distal locking without injury to neurovascular structures.
Clavicle fractures have been known to be common injuries with a reported incidence of 2.4–4% amongst all fractures, however the incidence of bilateral clavicle fractures is rare. A thorough search of all English language journals revealed that bilateral clavicle fractures comprised 0.43% of all clavicle fractures, with an overall incidence of between 0.011–0.017%. Though the surgical intervention of clavicle fractures uses many implants, never has been screw intramedullary flexible nail been used in a bilateral clavicle fracture. We report a case of a 32-year-old male who presented with bilateral clavicle fracture and was treated successfully.
Keywords: Bilateral clavicle fractures, closed reduction, internal fixation, intramedullary
Objectives: In patients with distal femur fractures, we studied the role of retrograde locked intramedullary nails. Methods: Retrograde locked intramedullary nailing was used to treat the distal femur fractures of 20 patients (15 males, 5 females; mean age 47 years; range 25 to 69 years). Two patients had fracture of the distal femur and shaft. The fractures were classified as A1 (n=12), A2 (n=6), A3 (n=2), by the AO classification. There were two Grade I open fractures and 18 closed fractures. Three fractures were managed with percutaneous technique. At the mean first follow-up time of 18 months (range 15-48 months and mean second follow up at 27 months (range 12 to 68 months), the concluding functional results were assessed by using the modified Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) knee assessment scale. Results: The average time to achieve union was 24.2 weeks (range 14 to 42 weeks). One patient had a delayed union (44 weeks). Five knees (25%) had normal joint range of motion, ten knees (50%) were having range of motion from 100° to 110°, three knees (15%) were having range of motion of 80°, and two knees (10%) were having range of motion below the 80°. According to the modified HSS knee scale, the results were excellent in eleven cases (55%), good in six (30%), moderate in two (10%), and poor in one case (5%). In two patients (10%), the postoperative radiographic examination revealed varus angulation (10°), healing took place with severe distortion in one subject. None of the patient had any deep infection or wound issues. Conclusion: Retrograde femoral nailing is an effective method for treating distal femoral shaft fractures. The healing rate of femoral shaft fractures fixed with a retrograde nail is the same regardless of fracture location, patient age, gender, or degree of comminution. For good results surgical treatment, post-surgery immediate knee mobilisation and avoiding nail tip prominence in the knee are essential.
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