Abstract: Background: Subtrochanteric area is described as the region from the lesser trochanter to 5cm distal of proximal femur. It is one of the most challenging fractures for the orthopaedic surgeons. The cause of frequent commination is that these fractures occur at the junction of trabecular bone and cortical bone where the mechanical stress is highest. Non-Operative management of subtrochanteric femur fractures poses difficulties in obtaining and maintaining a reduction, making operative management the preferred treatment. This study is aimed to prospectively evaluate the clinical and functional outcomes of subtrochanteric fractures treated with Long PFN.
Material and Methods: 24 patients above the age of 18 years with subtrochanteric fractures were included in the study. Patients were assessed clinically and radio logically at 6, 12, 18 and 24 weeks and at 9months and final follow-up was done at 1year. At each follow-up, functional evaluation of the patient was done.
Results: A total of 24 patients(16 males and 8 females) were evaluated with age ranging from 18 years to 75 years with most patients in between 40-60 years; 58% of the cases were road traffic accidents, 33% due to fall from height and 9% due to trivial fall with right side being more common side affected. In our study most of the cases belong to Sensheimer type III B (25%) Mean duration of hospital stay was 12 days. Out of 24 cases, excellent results were seen in 70% of cases in our study.
Conclusion: Long PFN is an effective, efficient and biomechanically stable device for the treatment of subtrochanteric fractures with a high rate of bony union and good functional outcome.
