Clinical Outcome of Supracondylar Femoral Fractures Managed with Locking Plate Osteosynthesis in a Rural Hospital: A Prospective Longitudinal Study

Abstract

The study's goal was to evaluate the clinical and functional outcomes of distal femur fractures treated with locking plate osteosynthesis, as well as the risks involved.  This prospective study included 45 patients with supracondylar femur fractures treated surgically with locking plate osteosynthesis at our institute between June 2016 and June 2018. The functional outcome was assessed using Neer's scoring. Patients were followed up on every 12 weeks, with the last follow-up taking place at the end of a year.

45 patients were studied i.e. 36 males and 9 females with a mean age of 45.46 ±17.55SD years. The most common cause of injury (71.1%) was a road accident, and the AO classification was used to classify fracture configuration, with type "33 C3" (26.67%) being the most common. 39 patients (86.66%) received distal femur locking plate osteosynthesis, while 6 patients (13.33%) received external fixation that was later converted to plate osteosynthesis after infection control. Knee stiffness (17.78%) was the most common complication, with 6 patients (13.33%) experiencing shortening. Neer's scoring was used to calculate patient outcomes, with 31 (68.89%) patients having excellent to good outcomes, 9 having fair outcomes, and 5 having poor outcomes.  The majority of patients showed a significant progressive rise in Neer's outcome scores, making the distal femoral locking plate an appropriate option for obtaining adequate fixation in distal femoral fractures.