Comparison of Peri and Early Post-Operative Complications in Long Versus Short Proximal  Femoral Nail for Unstable Proximal Femoral Fractures

Abstract

Objective: To compare peri and early post-operative complications in long versus short proximal femoral nails for unstable proximal femoral fractures. Study Design: Quasi-experimental study. Place and Duration of Study: Orthopaedic Department, Combined Military Hospital, Lahore Pakistan, Jan to Sep 2021. Methodology: We included all the patients who suffered from unstable proximal femur fractures diagnosed by a consultant orthopedic surgeon based on clinical and radiological findings. They were randomly divided into two groups. Group-A was managed by a long proximal femoral nail, while Group-B was managed by a short proximal femoral nail. Both groups were compared for peri- and early post-operative complications. Results: The final analysis included 110 patients. The mean age of the study participants was 63.66±8.553 years. 79(71.8%) were male, while 31(28.2%) were female. Peri- and early post-operative complications were not statistically different in both groups except for the duration of surgery. Patients undergoing long proximal femoral nail fixation had more chances of having surgery lasting more than 40 minutes than patients undergoing short femoral nail fixation (p-value-0.004). Conclusion: The peri- and early post-operative complications rate was almost similar in both groups. Patients undergoing long proximal femoral nail fixation had more chances of having prolonged surgery than patients undergoing short femoral nail fixation.

Keywords

• Complications; Femoral fracture, Intramedullary nail.