Skip to main content
Log in

Distal femoral fine wire traction assisted retrograde nailing of the femur

  • Technical Note
  • Published:
European Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery & Traumatology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Here we describe the surgical technique for using distal femoral fine wire traction during retrograde femoral nailing and present case examples. This technique allows for hands-free distraction across the fracture site to restore length and alignment, while not interfering with the preparation and insertion of the retrograde femoral nail. Distal femoral fine wire traction is a useful adjunctive technique to restore length and effect an indirect reduction in femur fractures being stabilized with a retrograde nail.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Weiss RJ, Montgomery SM, Al Dabbagh Z, Jansson KA (2009) National data of 6409 Swedish inpatients with femoral shaft fractures: stable incidence between 1998 and 2004. Injury 40(3):304–308

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Helfet DL, Haas NP, Schatzker J, Matter P, Moser R, Hanson B (2003) AO philosophy and principles of fracture management-its evolution and evaluation. J Bone Joint Surg Am 85(6):1156–1160

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Vidal J, Buscayret C, Fischbach C, Brahin B, Paran M, Escare P (1977) New method of treatment of comminuted fractures of the lower end of the radius: “ligamentary taxis.” Acta Orthop Belg 43(6):781–789

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Charnley J (2003) The closed treatment of common fractures, 4th edn. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Book  Google Scholar 

  5. Githens M, Alton TB, Firoozabadi R, Bishop JA (2016) Intraoperative distal femoral fine wire traction to facilitate intramedullary nailing of the femur. Orthopedics 39(2):e380–e385

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Henley B, Githens M, Gardner M (2019) Harborview illustrated tips and tricks in fracture surgery, 2nd edn. Wolters Kluwer, Netherlands

    Google Scholar 

  7. McDonald TC, Lambert JJ, Hulick RM, Graves ML, Russell GV, Spitler CA et al (2019) Treatment of distal femur fractures with the depuy-synthes variable angle locking compression plate. J Orthop Trauma 33(9):432–437

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Wallace SS, Bechtold D, Sassoon A (2017) Periprosthetic fractures of the distal femur after total knee arthroplasty: plate versus nail fixation. Orthop Traumatol Surg Res 103(2):257–262

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Baumgaertel F, Dahlen C, Stiletto R, Gotzen L (1994) Technique of using the AO-femoral distractor for femoral intramedullary nailing. J Orthop Trauma 8(4):315–321

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Shymon SJ, Ulitto J, Barei DP, Sirkin MS, Reilly MC, Adams MR (2020) External fixator assisted reduction of distal femur fractures: technical trick. J Orthop Trauma. https://doi.org/10.1097/BOT.0000000000001901

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Wolinsky PR, Lucas JF (2017) Reduction techniques for diaphyseal femur fractures. J Am Acad Orthop Surg 25(11):e251–e260

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Marchand LS, Jacobson LG, Stuart AR, Haller JM, Higgins TF, Rothberg DL (2020) Assessing femoral rotation: a survey comparison of techniques. J Orthop Trauma 34(3):e96–e101

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Funding

No funding was provided for this study.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Michael J. Chen.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

M.J.G. receives personal fees from Pacira Pharmaceuticals, Biocomposites, BoneSupport AB, Conventus, Globus Medical, StabilizOrtho, Synthes, and from. J.A.B. receives personal fees from Globus Medical and Innomed. None of the remaining authors have anything to disclose.

Ethical approval

This article contained only de-identified human participant information.

Each patient was informed that data concerning the case would be submitted for publication and each patient agreed.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Chen, M.J., Avedian, R.S., Gardner, M.J. et al. Distal femoral fine wire traction assisted retrograde nailing of the femur. Eur J Orthop Surg Traumatol 31, 1529–1534 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00590-021-02897-2

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00590-021-02897-2

Keywords

Navigation