Ipsilateral fracture of the femoral neck and shaft, treatment by reconstruction interlocking nail

Abstract

This study involved nine patients with ipsilateral fractures of the neck and shaft of the femur. They were all male with an average age of 28.5 years. All of the fractures resulted from high-energy trauma. The neck fracture was initially missed in one case. All fractures were fixed by a Russell-Taylor reconstruction femoral nail. Surgery was delayed for an average of 6.6 days (range 2–21 days). The patients were followed up for an average of 2.1 years. All fractures healed; the average time of union for the neck fracture was 4.2 months (range 3–6 months) and for the shaft fracture, 6.9 months (range 4–18 months). A delay in surgery did not affect the union rate. There were no cases of avascular necrosis or non-union of the femoral neck fracture. One hip healed into mild varus, one shaft fracture had a delayed union, and one developed a late infection of the femoral shaft. The use of the reconstruction nail offers superior stabilization over other currently used methods and is associated with fewer complications.