Fixation of Traumatic Femoral Shaft Fracture in Port Harcourt: Comparison of Locked Intramedullary Nailing and Plating.

Background: Trauma is increasingly becoming a public health concern worldwide. Femoral fractures resulting from trauma are challenging to manage.

Definitive stabilization of the fractured femur shaft could be done by various methods. Locked intramedullary nailing is the gold standard for surgical stabilization and plating are two options for management. Both methods have advantages and disadvantages.

Method: This is a prospective randomized study conducted in two centres, located in Port Harcourt metropolis over a period of twelve months. Ethical approval was obtained from both hospitals and informed consent was obtained. Data were analysed using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 20. Results were presented in graphs and tables.

Result: A total of 70 patients completed the study with 35 in each group. Males were more in number. The commonest cause of injury was motor vehicular accidents with n= 16 (45.7%) in the nailing group and n= 24 (68.6%) in plating group. The average time to weight bearing was 4 weeks for nailing and 9.26 weeks for plating. Also, the average time to return to normal activity was 8.31 weeks for nailing and 14.09 weeks for plating. The average time to early bony union was 14.49 weeks for nailing and 18.69 weeks for plating.

Conclusion: Fixation of traumatic femoral shaft fracture using locked intramedullary nailing resulted in a shorter duration of hospital stay and early commencement of normal duties.