[Treatment of AO/OTA type 31-A3 intertrochanteric fracture with proximal femoral nail antirotation combined with mini plate reconstruction of lateral femoral wall]

Is Sliding Compression Necessary for Intramedullary Nailing Fixation of AO/OTA Type A3.3 Intertrochanteric Fracture?

OBJECTIVES

The intramedullary nail is considered the gold standard for treating AO/OTA type A3.3 intertrochanteric fractures. However, it still faces a significant rate of failure, mainly due to the critical factor of comminuted lateral wall defects leading to inadequate proximal sliding compression. The primary objective of this study is to investigate the requirement of sliding compression in the treatment of unstable AO/OTA type A3.3 intertrochanteric fractures. To achieve this, we conduct a comparative analysis between two approaches: InterTAN alone and proximal femoral anti-rotation blade nailing (PFNA) combined with lateral wall reconstruction for treating AO/OTA type A3.3 intertrochanteric fractures with lateral wall damage.

METHODS

A retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data of patients who underwent intramedullary nailing fixation for AO/OTA type A3.3 intertrochanteric fractures at our hospital from January 2012 to January 2022. Patient characteristics as well as treatment details, including operative time, intraoperative blood loss, weight-bearing time, fracture healing time, tip apex distance (TAD) loss, Harris hip scores (HHS), Parker-Palmer mobility score (PPMS), and postoperative complications, were collected and analyzed. Continuous variables were analyzed using independent sample t-tests, while categorical variables were examined using the chi-square test. For group comparisons, variance analysis was applied, and pairwise comparisons were conducted using the LSD-t test.

RESULTS

These patients were divided into PFNA combined with lateral wall reconstruction group (sliding compression group) and InterTAN fixation group (static fixation group) based on surgical methods. The operation time, intraoperative bleeding loss, HHS at 12 months and PPMS at 12 months in the sliding compression group were significantly higher than those in the static fixation group, and time to weight-bearing and fracture healing time were significantly lower than those in the static fixation group (p < 0.05). There were no significant differences between two groups in terms of the TAD at 2 days, 2, and 12 months postoperatively, the incidence of complications (p > 0.05). At 6 months postoperatively, femoral neck length was shortened compared to 2 days postoperatively in both groups, and the sliding compression group had a significantly greater degree of femoral neck shortening than the static fixation group (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

The use of PFNA with lateral wall reconstruction for A3.3 intertrochanteric fractures demonstrated superior mobility, efficiency, and reduced internal fixation failure rates compared to InterTAN. These findings suggest that sliding compression may be required for intramedullary nailing treatment.

[Effectiveness of proximal femoral nail anti-rotation combined with minimally invasive percutaneous plate osteosynthesis versus Intertan intramedullary nail fixation in treatment of intertrochanteric fracture with incomplete lateral wall]

Objective

To compare the effectiveness of proximal femoral nail anti-rotation (PFNA) combined with minimally invasive percutaneous plate osteosynthesis (MIPPO) and Intertan intramedullary nail fixation by closed reduction in the treatment of AO/Orthopaedic Trauma Association (AO/OTA) type 31-A3.3 intertrochanteric fracture with incomplete lateral wall.

Methods

The clinical data of 54 patients with AO/OTA type 31-A3.3 intertrochanteric fracture who met the selection criteria and were admitted between January 2012 and January 2018 were retrospectively analyzed. According to different surgical methods, the patients were divided into group A (24 cases with lateral wall reconstruction by MIPPO combined with PFNA internal fixation) and group B (30 cases with Intertan intramedullary nail fixation by closed reduction only). There was no significant difference between the two groups ( P>0.05) in terms of gender, age, side of injury, cause of injury, and combined medical diseases. The operation time, intraoperative blood loss, time to weight-bearing, fracture healing time, and postoperative complications were recorded and compared between the two groups. The tip apex distance (TAD) was measured at 2 days, 2 months, and 1 year after operation. At 12 months after operation, the hip joint function was evaluated according to Harris scoring standard, and the rate of conformity (Harris score were more than 70) was calculated.

Results

The wounds of the two groups healed by first intention, without infection, skin deformity, and other incision complications. The operation time and intraoperative blood loss of group A were significantly more than those of group B, and the time to weight-bearing and fracture healing were significantly shorter than those of group B ( P<0.05). The patients were followed up 9-20 months (mean, 14.7 months) in group A and 9-19 months (mean, 13.8 months) in group B. There was no significant difference in TAD values at 2 days, 2 months, and 1 year after operation between the two groups ( P<0.05), and there was also no significant difference in TAD values between the postoperative time points ( P>0.05). There was 1 case of infection, 1 case of screw withdrawal, 2 cases of screw removal, and 1 case of bone nonunion in group B, the incidence of complications was 16.7%; there was only 1 case of screw withdrawal combined with screw blade withdrawal in group A, the incidence of complications was 4.2%; there was no significant difference between the two groups ( χ ²=2.109, P=0.146). At 12 months after operation, the Harris scores of pain, function, malunion, range of motion, and total score in group A were significantly better than those in group B ( P<0.05). The rate of conformity of group A was 95.83% (23/24) and 76.67% (23/30) in group B, and the difference between the two groups was significant ( χ ²=3.881, P=0.049).

Conclusion

For the AO/OTA type 31-A3.3 intertrochanteric fracture with incomplete lateral wall, compared with the closed reduction Intertan intramedullary nail fixation, the incidence of internal fixation failure after MIPPO reconstruction with lateral wall combined with PFNA fixation was lower, the time to weight-bearing was earlier, and the postoperative function was better.

[A comparative study on effectiveness of closed reduction and internal fixation of intertrochanteric fracture assisted with skeletal tractor and traction table]

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the effectiveness and advantages of skeletal tractor in closed reduction and proximal femoral nail antirotation (PFNA) internal fixation of intertrochanteric fracture compared with traction table.

METHODS

The clinical data of 86 patients with intertrochanteric fractures, who were treated with closed reduction and PFNA internal fixation between October 2016 and March 2018 and met the selection criteria, was retrospectively analysed. Among them, 44 cases were treated with skeletal tractor (trial group) and 42 cases were treated with traction table (control group). There was no significant difference between the two groups in gender, age, cause of injury, fracture side, AO classification, and degree of osteoporosis ( P>0.05). The preoperative position time, operation time, intraoperative fluoroscopy times, intraoperative blood loss, fracture healing time, intraoperative and postoperative complications, and postoperative Harris score were compared between the two groups.

RESULTS

The operation was successfully completed in both groups. Compared with the control group, the patients in the trial group had shorter preoperative position time and operation time, fewer intraoperative fluoroscopy times, and less intraoperative blood loss ( P<0.05). The patients were followed up 12-21 months in trial group (mean, 14.2 months) and 12-22 months in control group (mean, 14.3 months). Venous thrombosis of lower extremity occurred in 8 patients (3 cases of trial group and 5 cases of control group) after operation. Internal fixation failure occurred in 5 patients (2 cases of trial group and 3 cases of control group) during 1 year after operation. All fractures healed except for those with internal fixation failure, the fracture healing time was (11.6±2.9) weeks in trial group and (12.4±3.6) weeks in control group; and there was no significant difference between the two groups ( t=1.250, P=0.214). At 1 year after operation, Harris score of the trial group was 86.2±5.9 and that of the control group was 84.1±6.1. There was no significant difference between the two groups ( t=1.768, P=0.080).

CONCLUSION

Compared with traction table, skeletal tractor in closed reduction and PFNA internal fixation of intertrochanteric fracture can significantly shorten the preoperative position time and operation time, reduce the intraoperative fluoroscopy times, improve the operation efficiency, and have similar effectiveness.