Femoral Mid-shaft Fractures Of AO Type32A And32B1: Expandable Nailing Or Locked Nailing?

Objective: To compare expandable and locked intramedullary nailing for treatingfemoral mid-shaft fractures of AO type32A and32B1.Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of40patients with femoralmid-shaft fractures, divided into two groups–one treated with the expandableintramedullary nailing method (group A), the other with conventional lockedintramedullary nailing (group B). The two groups were compared with respect to operationtime, fluoroscopic time, amount of blood loss, hospitalization time, healing time andcomplications.Results: Followed up for12-24months, all the patients achieved bone union. Butexpandable nailing performed better than locked nailing with respect to operation time,fluoroscopic time, amount of blood loss, hospitalization time and healing time (P<0.05).No obvious shortening or severe complication was observed in either group.Conclusion: Expandable intramedullary nailing showed significant advantages intreating femoral mid-shaft fractures, at least of AO type32A and32B1.