Treatment of stable extra-capsular hip fractures with a sliding screw versus short gamma nail: a retrospective study of 102 patients

This is a retrospective study of 102 patients with intertrochanteric hip fractures comparing the operative results of short gamma nail? fixation with the sliding hip screw. The average patient age in the study is 83 years (range 52–94 years) with 87% females. The transfusion requirements between the two groups did not differ but a slightly larger decrease in hemoglobin levels was seen at 48 h in the gamma nail group. In neither group were there any intra-operative fractures or infections which led to a return to the operating room. The average length of stay for both groups was identical at 6.9 days. Twenty-seven short gamma nail patients and 18 compression hip screw patients were followed for 6 months. There were no instances of cut-out in either group but the short gamma nail group had middle/middle lag screw placement on the AP and lateral views more often than the compression hip screw (50%) group at 6 months. We conclude that the short gamma nail can be used effectively for the fixation of intertrochanteric hip fractures without the occurrence of potentially devastating complications such as intraoperative femur fracture, periprosthetic fracture or lag screw cut-out.     

The trochanteric nail versus the sliding hip screw for intertrochanteric hip fractures: a review of 93 cases

BACKGROUND: The trochanteric nail, a redesigned short gamma nail, (Howmedica, Rutherford, NJ) was introduced in the United States during 1998 for the treatment of intertrochanteric fractures. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed 93 patients who were treated for an intertrochanteric fracture with either a sliding hip screw (SHS) or the short trochanteric nail (TN). RESULTS: In all, 94% of the patients in the sliding hip screw group healed without complication. There was one case of femoral head necrosis, one lag screw cutout, and one hardware removal for pain. Eighty-nine percent of the patients in the trochanteric nail group healed without complication. There was one late fracture at the tip of the nail, three cases of lag screw cutout, and one nonunion. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that the trochanteric nail is a reasonable alternative to the sliding hip screw when used for intertrochanteric fractures, although it may be associated with higher complication rates.     

Sigmoid perforation after medial migration of lag screw in gamma nailing

Medial lag screw migration in Gamma nailing is a rare complication. In an 84-year-old woman, the medial migration of the lag screw into the pelvic was observed 8 weeks after intramedullary osteosynthesis of a trochanteric fracture by Gamma nailing. Total hip replacement was performed after removal of the Gamma nail. Twelve weeks later, the patient developed a sepsis and was revised for retroperitoneal abscess formation extended to the interested hip region. The reason for the retroperitoneal abscess was the undetected sigmoid perforation due to the migrated lag screw. After radical surgical and antibiotic therapy, the complication could be handled with a satisfactory clinical outcome.     

A laboratory model to evaluate cutout resistance of implants for pertrochanteric fracture fixation

OBJECTIVES: To establish a laboratory model of implant cutout, which can evaluate the effect of implant design on cutout resistance in a clinically realistic "worst case" scenario. SETTING: Orthopaedic biomechanics laboratory. DESIGN: Implant cutout was simulated in an unstable pertrochanteric fracture model, which accounted for dynamic loading, osteoporotic bone, and a defined implant offset. For model characterization, lag screw cutout was simulated in human cadaveric specimens and in polyurethane foam surrogates. Subsequently, foam surrogates were used to determine differences in cutout resistance between 2 common lag screws (dynamic hip screw, Gamma) and 2 novel blade-type implant designs (dynamic helical hip system, trochanteric fixation nail). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Implant migration was continuously recorded with a spatial motion tracking system as a function of the applied loading cycles. In addition, the total number of loading cycles to cutout failure was determined for specific load amplitudes. RESULTS: Implant migration in polyurethane surrogates closely correlated with that in cadaveric specimens, but yielded higher reproducibility and consistent cutout failure. The cutout model was able to delineate significant differences in cutout resistance between specific implant designs. At any of 4 load amplitudes (0.8 kN, 1.0 kN, 1.2 kN, 1.4 kN) dynamic hip screw lag screws failed earliest. The gamma nail lag screw could sustain significantly more loading cycles than the dynamic hip screw. Of all implants, trochanteric fixation nail implants demonstrated the highest cutout resistance. CONCLUSIONS: Implant design can significantly affect the fixation strength and cutout resistance of implants for pertrochanteric fracture fixation. The novel cutout model can predict differences in cutout resistance between distinct implant designs.     

Treatment of early cut-out of a lag screw using a trochanter supporting plate: 11 consecutive patients with unstable intertrochanteric fractures

Introduction Superior cut-out of a lag screw remains a serious complication in the treatment of intertrochanteric fractures. It is related to the stability of fracture reduction. We describe the application of a trochanter supporting plate (TSP) to restore the fracture stability after early cut-out of a lag screw in unstable intertrochanteric fractures.Materials and methods A total of 11 consecutive patients with superior cut-out of the lag screw of a dynamic hip screw (DHS) or a gamma nail in an unstable intertrochanteric fracture occurring within 6 months after surgery were included in the present study. They underwent repeat surgery for placement of a DHS and a laterally mounted TSP of our design. All patients were monitored for at least 6 months (median 15 months; range 6–28 months).Results There was no repeated cut-out of a lag screw, and 10 patients (91%) achieved bony union within 5 months. At the last follow-up, all patients could walk with or without aids.Conclusion It reveals that a TSP, as an adjuvant to a lag screw placed inferiorly, is an easy and safe solution for the treatment of early cut-out of a lag screw in unstable intertrochanteric fractures.     

Intrapelvic migration of hip lag screw of proximal femoral nail-sequele to a paradoxical reverse Z effect and their critical analysis

A 40-year-male treated with hip screw for unstable inter trochanteric fracture femur, had an implant failure after an aggressive therapy session .The Dynamic Condylar Screw was removed and fracture was fixed with Proximal Femoral Nail. The nail also failed to achieve its goal of fracture union, as a result of a unique type of reverse Z effect, in contradiction to expected Z effect resulting in intrapelvic migration of proximal hip lag screw of the proximal femoral nail.     

Cephalomedullary fixation for intertrochanteric fractures: an operative technical tip

Intertrochanteric fracture is the most common hip fractures in elderly population. Cephalomedullary fixation, including proximal femoral nail antirotation (PFNA) and gamma nail, is commonly used in the treatment of intertrochanteric fractures. One of difficulties encountered in operation is insertion of the guide wire to femoral head. The guide wire would always bend and flow superiorly away from femoral calcar, and the lag screw and helical blade will follow the track and get into superior part of femoral head, not into femoral calcar. Here, we are presenting a surgical technique to direct the guide wire to right track. When guide wire just passed the tack hole of the nail, the rod of nail was slightly tapped down further to allow the superior border of the tack hole to touch the guide wire. Therefore, the superior border of the tack hole can be used as presser to prevent the wire from deviating upward. Through this way, the lag screw and helical blade get a good purchase that docked at femoral calcar. After that, the rod of nail was pulled back a little to make the wire in the middle of the tack hole, which can facilitate the insertion of the PFNA blade or lag screw. Our experience demonstrated that this surgical technique reduced the intraoperative risk for patients.     

Trochanteric fracture-implant motion during healing – A radiostereometry (RSA) study

Cut-out complication remains a major unsolved problem in the treatment of trochanteric hip fractures. A better understanding of the three-dimensional fracture-implant motions is needed to enable further development of clinical strategies and countermeasures. The aim of this clinical study was to characterise and quantify three-dimensional motions between the implant and the bone and between the lag screw and nail of the Gamma nail.Radiostereometry Analysis (RSA) analysis was applied in 20 patients with trochanteric hip fractures treated with an intramedullary nail. The following three-dimensional motions were measured postoperatively, at 1 week, 3, 6 and 12 months: translations of the tip of the lag screw in the femoral head, motions of the lag screw in the nail, femoral head motions relative to the nail and nail movements in the femoral shaft.Cranial migration of the tip of the lag screw dominated over the other two translation components in the femoral head. In all fractures the lag screw slid laterally in the nail and the femoral head moved both laterally and inferiorly towards the nail. All femoral heads translated posteriorly relative to the nail, and rotations occurred in both directions with median values close to zero. The nail tended to retrovert in the femoral shaft.Adverse fracture-implant motions were detected in stable trochanteric hip fractures treated with intramedullary nails with high resolution. Therefore, RSA method can be used to evaluate new implant designs and clinical strategies, which aim to reduce cut-out complications. Future RSA studies should aim at more unstable fractures as these are more likely to fail with cut-out.     

Medial pelvic migration of the lag screw in a short gamma nail after hip fracture fixation: a case report and review of the literature

Hip fractures are a common injury among the elderly. Internal fixation with an intramedullary (IM) system has gained popularity for the treatment of intertrochanteric femur fractures. Multiple complications associated with IM fracture fixation have been described, however, we report a rare complication of medial pelvic migration of the lag screw of a short IM nail in a stable construct ten weeks post surgery. The patient was subsequently treated with Lag Screw removal and revision surgery with a shorter Lag Screw and an accessory cannulated screw acting as a de-rotational device. The patient did well with the revision surgery and was able to return to full activities.     

Investigation on the distal screw of a trochanteric intramedullary implant (Fi-nail) using a simplified finite element model

Numerous studies have been published concerning the characteristics and the behaviour of the intramedullary devices in the treatment of the intertrochanteric hip fractures. However, there is still room for further exploration and exploitation concerning the implant behaviour with respect to the parts of the implant assembly (nail, lag screw and distal screw). Towards this direction, the present paper aimed at revealing the effect of the position of the distal screw on the mechanical behaviour of the fixation device. For this purpose, a simplified model was developed and analysed with the finite element method. In total, five different locations for the distal screw were examined. In all cases, the bone was fixed at its distal end while the external load was applied at the tip of the lag screw towards the hip and in the form of orthonormal force components applied individually. The results of the FE analyses were illustrated in appropriately formed plots revealing the sensitivity of the behaviour of the implant with respect to the location of the distal screw. The main conclusion derived from the present investigation was that moving the distal screw apically decreases the stresses on the distal screw but increases the stresses on the lag screw. In turn, this indicates the existence of a location for the distal screw that compromises these two effects in an optimum way.     

Proximal femoral nail for treatment of trochanteric femoral fractures

PURPOSE: To report outcomes of 87 consecutive patients treated with a proximal femoral nail (PFN) for trochanteric femoral fractures. METHODS: 17 men and 70 women aged 58 to 95 (mean, 85) years with trochanteric femoral fractures underwent PFN fixation using an intramedullary nail, a lag screw, and a hip pin. Fractures were classified according to the AO system; the most common fracture type was A2 (n=45), followed by A1 (n=36) and A3 (n=6). The position of the lag screw within the femoral head was measured. The lateral slide of the lag screw after fracture consolidation was measured by comparing the immediate postoperative and final anteroposterior radiographs. RESULTS: 90% of lag screws were placed in an optimal position. The length of lateral slide of the lag screw in stable A1 fractures was significantly less than that in unstable A2 fractures; it was over 10 mm in 7 of 45 patients with A2 fractures. Cut-out of lag screw did not occur, suggesting that free sliding of the lag screw facilitates direct impaction between fragments. CONCLUSION: A PFN is useful for the treatment of trochanteric femoral fractures.     

Vergleichende Stabilitätsprüfungen von DHS- und γ-Nagel-Osteosynthesen bei instabilen pertrochantären Femurosteotomien

In 24 human cadaver femora standardized instable pertrochanteric osteotomies were created. The right and left femur of each pair were alternately selected for osteosyntheses with the gamma nail and the dynamic hip screw. Afterwards an examination of stability was performed. Cyclical loads were increased in 500 N increments to the maximum loading capacity, while the deformation rate was continuously measured. Radiographs, were taken to prove the results of loading. The mean deformation was much greater in the DHS group than for the gamma nail, the maximum load to failure was significantly lower. Femoral shaft fractures caused by the loading occured five times as often in the gamma nail osteosyntheses than in the DHS.     

Treatment of a double nonunion of the femur by rhBMP-2

A 49-year-old patient sustained an ipsilateral fracture of the lateral femoral neck and distal femoral shaft, which were treated with a long intramedullary nail with a hip screw component. Both fractures did not heal, and both nonunion sites were revised by reosteosynthesis with a dynamic hip screw for the femoral neck and a locked intramedullary nail for the shaft region combined with autogenous bone grafting at both sites. At 14 months from injury and after 2 operations, both nonunions persisted. At a third surgery, 1 kit of recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-2 (rhBMP-2) on an absorbable collagen sponge was applied to each site, without any modification of the osteosynthesis or additional bone grafting. The lateral femoral neck and the femoral shaft consolidated 24 and 30 weeks, respectively, after the rhBMP-2 application, and the patient resumed his work as industrial worker after 7 months after his last surgery. We believe this is the first study to report the successful use of 2 kits of rhBMP-2 in a double nonunion of the femur.     

Fatal retroperitoneal hemorrhage caused by perforation of a guidewire pin for proximal femur fixation

A 77-year-old woman with a slightly displaced intertrochanteric two-fragment fracture of the left hip was treated by internal fixation using a screw-nail device (gamma nail). After the operation she became hemodynamically unstable, and ultrasound revealed a large retroperitoneal fluid accumulation in the left lower abdomen. A contrast computed tomogram revealed active hemorrhage next to the quadrilateral surface of the left acetabulum. Selective angiography and embolization were immediately initiated and stopped the bleeding. However, despite the successful treatment of the retroperitoneal hemorrhage, the patient developed an oligosymptomatic myocardial infarction associated with clinical evidence of a cerebrovascular insult and pulmonary decompensation and died 2 weeks after her accident. The hemorrhage in this patient was most likely caused by surgical damage to the obturator artery during placement of the guidewire pin (with threaded tip) to position the screw of the implant.     

Complications following the treatment of trochanteric fractures with the gamma nail

Introduction The treatment of trochanteric fractures with the use of gamma nails has become an established method. Despite the good and reliable results, some typical failures and complications may occur. It was our purpose to analyse the most common complications and their treatment options.Materials and methods A total of 498 patients were treated with a gamma nail from January 1992 until December 2001. There were 77% pertrochanteric, 10% subtrochanteric, 11% reversed pertrochanteric and 2% lateral femoral neck fractures. The patients mean age was 78.6 years (ranging from 29 to 98 years).Results There were a total of 78 general complications (16%) and implant-related complications in 8% (n=42). The most common complication was trochanteric pain necessitating removal of the gamma nail (n=30). Four patients fell after removal of the nail and sustained a neck fracture on the same side. Cut-out of the screw occurred in 19 patients. Sixteen of them had to be converted to a total hip replacement. Another 5 patients were converted to a total hip replacement because of pseudoarthrosis. During conversion to total hip replacements, the trochanter major refixation and length adjustment were the most problematic steps (intra- or postoperative dislocations necessitating anti-dislocation rings in three cases). Furthermore, cement extrusion at the femur and acetabulum occurred in 13 cases. Infections occurred in 3 patients. Five patients with a short gamma nail needed a conversion to a long gamma nail due to pseudoarthrosis (n=2) or femur fracture at the distal interlocking bolt (n=3). In addition, 7 patients sustained a distal femur fracture through the distal bolt, necessitating a plate osteosynthesis.Conclusion Most complications after gamma nail fixation can be prevented by following certain rules. The other inevitable problems can be dealt with either through a conversion to a total hip replacement, a re-osteosynthesis with a long gamma nail or an additional condylar plate. Conversion to total hip replacement may be a demanding operation with a higher than normal complication rate. Removal of the gamma nail should be performed cautiously as re-fractures can occur.     

股骨粗隆间骨折内固定手术后并发症原因分析

目的：探讨动力髋螺钉(DHS)和股骨近端髓内固定(Gamma钉、PFN)治疗股骨粗隆间骨折产生手术后并发症的原因。方法：总结2000～2004年用DHS和髓内固定系统治疗的共94例股骨粗隆间骨折病例，对6例出现手术后并发症病例的原因进行了分析。结果：94例患者中6例出现术后并发症，并发症种类包括6类：术后股骨干骨折；内固定物股骨头颈内切割；髋内翻；股骨头坏死；头颈螺钉穿人髋关节；骨折不愈合。结论：内固定物选择不当是发生手术并发症的重要原因，而不稳定骨折、严重骨质疏松、骨折复位不良、头颈螺钉位置不良都将增加手术并发症的发生率。     

Gamma钉和DHS/Richard钉治疗股骨近端骨折相比较的Meta分析

目的评价Garoma钉和DyiS (Dynanlic Hip screw)／Rirhard钉治疗股骨近端骨折的疗效和安全性。方法 应用(Cochrance协作网Meta分析方法对关于Garoma钉和DHs／Richard钉治疗股骨近端骨折的随机或半随机对照试验进行Meta分析。结果 我们检索出1969～2003年间发表的88篇关于Ganmla钉和DHs／Richard钉治疗股骨近端骨折相比较的文献，经过筛选和评价，最后收集到已发表的7篇(共1256例患者)随机或半随机对照试验，符合本次Meta分析所纳入的试验标准。4个临床试验共包括62l例患者，提供了关于术后前6个月的死亡率的详细信息。我们发现Gamma钉术后头6个月与DHs／Richard钉相比较的死亡的相对危险度无明显统计学差异(相对危险度1．17，p=0．51)。6个试验包括1083例患者提供了并发症的资料。Garoma钉和DHS／Rithard钉内固定的相对危险度是1．4l(p：0．02)。Gamma钉明显的增加了股骨干骨折的危险(相对危险度6．99：p=0．00)，二次手术率增加(相对危险度1．85；p=0．20)。此外，Gamma钉与DHS／Richard钉相比较，患者的手术时间缩短，手术失血量及术后功能恢复相同。结论 通过此次Meta分析发现，对于治疗股骨近端骨折，Gamma钉与DHS／Richard钉相比较，在死亡率、伤口感染率、手术失血量、术后功能的相对危险度无明显统计学差异，但增加并发症，尤其明显的增加了股骨干骨折的危险，二次手术率有增加趋势。     

A randomized study of the compression hip screw and Gamma nail in 426 fractures

A prospective, randomized study comparing the compression hip screw with the Gamma nail in the treatment of 426 intertrochanteric fractures is reported. The median patient age was 80 years, and 71% were women The compression hip screw operation took less time except in Evans Type 5 fractures. Blood loss generally was less in the compression hip screw group except in patients with Type 5 fractures. The most frequent surgical problem for patients in the Gamma group was problems with distal locking. Cephalic position of the femoral head screw and cut-out were seen more often in the Gamma nail group. The Gamma nail more frequently preserved the fracture position obtained perioperatively. Whether there was distal locking of the Gamma nail in unstable fractures did not seem to affect the healing rate. Additional fissures or fractures in the proximal femur occurred during five Gamma nail operations and two compression hip screw operations. Postoperative walking ability did not differ between the groups. At 6 months 88% of the fractures were healed. In less comminuted fractures, the compression hip screw method is the preferred method of treatment whereas the Gamma nail is an alternative treatment for more comminuted Evans Type 5 fractures.     

Intertrochanteric fractures of the hip treated with the hip compression screw: analysis of problems.

Seventy-five patients were treated for intertrochanteric hip fractures with the hip compression screw. There were 4 cases in which the lag screw was inserted twice into the femoral head. Three of these patients had a poor result due to superolateral migration and extrusion of the lag screw. The fact that the lag screw is large in comparison to the femoral head makes double placement dangerous. Satisfactory guide wire placement is essential for a one time, precise insertion of the lag screw into the femoral head. The use of a threaded tip guide wire minimizes the chance of it falling out when withdrawing the reamer or tap. If the position of a lag screw is unacceptable, it seems better to insert a flanged nail rather than a second screw in a second track.