Clinical Experience in Using the Intramedullary Nail for Femoral Shaft Fractures

Fourty-one cases with femoral shaft fractures were treated with an intramedullary nail. Of the fourty-one cases, twenty-one were treated with the interlocking nail and twenty, with only a Kuntscher nail.The mean time until full-weight bearing was 46 days. Thirty nine of fourty-one fractures had good bone union but there was one refracture with breakage of nail and one with delayed union.All patients had almost full range of motion at the knee joint, but one had myositis ossificans.Intramedullary nailing is a useful method for treatment of femoral shaft fractures allowing early joint motion and weight bearing.