The distal femur fracture is a difficult injury that affects young men andelderly women. The tissue stripping that occurs with the traditional approach has been a factor in the development of complications like infection and nonunion. This study addresses the issue of minimally invasive approach. Does the LISS system really improve the results of such fracture? Fifty-two patients were included in the trial from six academic trauma centres. Twenty-eight fractures had been randomised to be fixed with the LISS device, while twenty-four had the DCS implant. Type C3 fractures were excluded as they were not amenable for fixation with DCS system. All procedures were performed via minimally invasive technique. The LISS system had the targeter that helped with plate insertion and distal diaphyseal screws placement. Radiography was utilised in the case of the DCS distal screws insertion. All fractures went onto union, except two participants in LISS group who had to be revised due to loss of reduction, in the early post-operative peroid. There were three nonunions in the same group. These required a re-operation. Further more, a LISS participant who had re-injured his distal femur (unrelated to LISS plate), was fixed with different implant. There was a single nonunion with the DCS group that needed revision surgery. There was one participant from each group who had drifted into varus. Neither required a re-operation. This translated into a 21% re-operation rate in the LISS system compared to 4% with the DCS device. Our data supports the use of the DCS system in the fixation of distal femur fractures (except Type C3} via a minimally invasive approach. The LISS implant seems to be technique dependent. In our centre, the LISS plate had been discontinued in favour of the DCP and LCP systems.
Sugioka trans-trochanteric valgus osteotomy (TVO) has originally been described for advanced osteoarthritis of hip. This has many advantages over conventional subtrochanteric osteotomies such as early union with simple fixation and preserving proximal femoral geometry to enable standard femoral components for a future hip replacement. Lateral displacement and distalisation of the greater trochanter increases the lever arm and improves abductor limp. The use of TVO has never been reported in children. We report our experience of TVO for hinge abduction in children (mostly in Perthes' disease). Twenty four patients of mean age 10.2 years at surgery, (range 7- 17 years) underwent TVO between 1998 and 2007. The diagnosis was Perthes' disease in 19 and avascular necrosis from other causes in the remaining five. Average follow-up was 4.4 years (18 months to 11 years). All patients had pre-operative confirmation of hinge abduction by arthrogram. Osteotomies were performed at inter-trochanteric level and fixed with screws and wire. The neck shaft angle increased by mean 11.75 degrees (range 6 to 23). Migration index increased by mean 3.88% (-14% to + 29%). Average limb length discrepancy at final follow-up was 10.8 mm (range -30 to +10mm). Final articulo-trochanteric distance was 4.5mm (range -15 to +21 mm) less than the opposite side. Functional assessment was carried out using the Modified IOWA hip scores. The mean hip score was 75.1 (range 38.8 to 97.6). Complications were one case of trochanteric non-union requiring further surgery, one case of stiffness which responded to manipulation under anaesthesia. Our results indicate that Sugioka TVO is a successful procedure for hinge abduction of the hip.
