A Reaserch On The Correlation Between Anterior Femoral Curvature And Intramedullary Nail

Objectives:A mismatch between the femoral bow and intramedullary nails(IMNs)causes a series of complications.Previous investigations have sought to determine the curvature of the femur using the radius of the femoral bow.However,the radius of the curvature(ROC)is affected by femur length.To eliminate the influence of femur length,we instead used an angle to indicate femoral curvatures.Method:Forty patients with intertrochanteric fractures who underwent a surgical procedure at our institution were enrolled in this study.We conducted a lateral X-ray of the contralateral femur before operation.We drew a triangle in the X-ray images using Digimizer software.The tangent values of the acute angle were used to indicate femoral curvature.The tangent values were then compared with the dimensions of currently used nails.Result:The average tangent value of the femurs was 0.0835±0.0147,as measured from the inner cortex and 0.0798±0.0150,as measured from the outer cortex.The tangent values were related to sex,with males having straighter femurs than females,and there was no obvious correlation between tangent values and age or femur length.Tangent value is a reliable method with a high intersurveyor consistency,femur curvatures were significantly greater than the curvatures of currently used nails.Conclusion:Tan value is a reliable method for Measuring the Curvature of the Anterior Femoral Arch.Femoral curvature has relationship with gender,but no obvious relationship with age or femoral length.The curvature of model nails was significantly less than the average curvature of femur.Abbreviations: IMN = intramedullary nail,ROC = radius of the curvature,CT = computed tomography.