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SIGN Pediatric, Fin nails effective for treating pediatric diaphyseal femur fractures
Surgical Implant Generation Network Pediatric and Fin nails were found to be effective for the treatment of pediatric diaphyseal femur fractures, with excellent healing outcomes and no major complications, according to study results.
Researchers prospectively evaluated 18 pediatric patients with diaphyseal femur fractures who had not yet reached skeletal maturity from 2010 to 2013. The study included 13 boys and five girls, with an average age of 10.2 years.
On average, it was 13 days between the time of injury and the surgery. Five patients underwent femoral nailing with the Surgical Implant Generation Network (SIGN) Pediatric nail and 13 patients received the Fin nail. All procedures were performed with hand-reaming without the use of bone grafting or an image intensifier. Demographics such as age, gender, date of injury, date of surgery, time from injury and any complications were collected by the researchers. The follow-up period, on average, was 70.7 weeks.
Using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences, the researchers analyzed the data collected. Out of the 18 patients, 11 had their nails removed at the request of the patient. The pediatric nail and fin nail were removed, on average, at 73 weeks and 48 weeks after the surgery, respectively.
No infections were found in either of the groups. There was no need for any repeat surgeries, and there were no cases of avascular necrosis of the femur head or limb-length discrepancies, according to the researchers. No complications were reported. ‒ by Monica Jaramillo
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.