Retrograde Intramedullary Nailing of Pediatric Femoral Shaft Fractures Does Not Result in Growth Arrest at the Distal Femoral Physis—A Retrospective Cases Series

Objective: To evaluate femoral growth after placement of retrograde intramedullary nails in the treatment of pediatric femoral shaft fractures. Design: Retrospective case series. Setting: Large urban trauma center in Mongolia. Patients/Participants: Twenty-nine pediatric patients who sustained a diaphyseal femoral shaft fracture were included in the study. Intervention: Retrograde intramedullary nail fixation with the standard, fin, or pediatric fin Surgical Implant Generation Network nail across an open distal femoral physis. Main Outcome Measures: The main outcome measure was the distance traveled by the intramedullary nail with respect to the distal femoral condyles and distal femoral physis from initial surgery to follow-up. Results: The mean age of patients was 10.7 years (range: 7–14 years). Follow-up occurred at a mean of 292 days (range: 53–714 days). Both condyle distance and physis distance were significantly positively correlated with follow-up days, with Pearson R values of 0.90 (P
Source: Journal of Orthopaedic Trauma - Category: Orthopaedics Tags: Original Article Source Type: research