Retrograde nailing for distal femur fractures in the elderly

INTRODUCTION: We report the results of treating a series of 56 fractures in 54 elderly patients with a distal femur fracture with a retrograde femoral nail. METHODS: Fifty-four of the nails were inserted percutaneously with a closed reduction. After surgery all patients were allowed to weight bear as tolerated. Four fractures were supported in a temporary external splint. RESULTS: The mean age of patients was 80.6 years (range 51-103 years), 52/54 (96%) were females. There were no cases of nail related complications and no re-operations were required. One patient was lost to follow up. The 30-day mortality was 5/54 (9.3%) and the one year mortality was 17/54 (31.5%). CONCLUSIONS: Distal femoral nail fixation provides a good method of fixation allowing immediate mobilisation for this group of patients.