Secondary osteoarthritis of the knee due to 40-year nonunion of a medial femoral condyle fracture: A case with good outcome without arthroplasty

Abstract

Isolated femoral condyle fracture is an uncommon entity. It accounts for only 0.65% of all femoral fractures, with lateral condyle involvement three times more frequently than the medial condyle. In neglected cases, nonunion and malalignment may occur, which results in osteoarthritis of the knee due to uneven distribution of load across respective compartments. In treating such cases, both osteoarthritis and nonunion have to be tackled to reconstruct a stable, mobile, pain-free, and well-aligned knee joint. There are a number of surgical options, including excision of the nonunion fragment, fixation of the nonunion fragment with or without bone graft, and total knee arthroplasty with or without stem extension. In the following, we present a case of 40-year non union of the lateral condyle and our rationale of management for a relatively young lady. During the course of treatment, there was an unexpected success even though arthroplasty was not performed. A management strategy for this challenging condition was also suggested.