A clinical study to evaluate the effectiveness of the short proximal femoral nail in the management of unstable intertrochanteric fractures

Background: The objective was to study the effectiveness and drawbacks of short proximal femoral nail in the management of unstable intertrochanteric fractures. Methods: This prospective study was conducted in the department of orthopaedics Al-Ameen medical college, Vijayapura, Karnataka, India from July 2010 to June 2017. Total 175 patients (130 males and 45 females) aged between 41 to 80 years with unstable Intertrochantreric fracture (155 had type IV and 20 had type III according to Boyd and Griffin classification). All patients were operated using Short proximal femoral nail and followed at least for a minimum period of 6 months and were evaluated radiologically and clinically by Kyle’s Criteria. Results: Anatomical reduction was achieved in 125 patients, 105 (60%) had no complications post operatively. Complications included 5 cases of avascular necrosis and screw cut out, 5 cases of delayed union, 5 cases of Z-effect, 20 cases of varus malunion, 10 cases of antirotation screw breakage, 5 cases of distal bolt breakage and 15 cases with lateral thigh discomfort. 125 patients had No shortening and the average shortening was 0.34 cm, average time of union was 19.26 weeks (15-30 weeks) in 170 cases. At the end of 6 months, good to excellent results were seen in 71.5% of cases, 57% patients returned to their pre injury functional level. Conclusions: Short proximal femoral nail provides good fixation for unstable intertrochanteric fractures, if proper pre-operative planning, good reduction and surgical techniques are followed leading to high rate of bone union and minimal soft tissues damage especially for Asian patients with relatively small femora.