Comminuted Supracondylar and Intercondylar Fractures of Distal Femur Managed by Ilizarov Method

3 Abstract: Distal femur fractures are considerable challenge in management. Severe comminution, fracture extension into the knee joint and injury to quadriceps mechanism lead to unsatisfactory result in many cases regardless of the treatment.To determine the healing time and functional results of Ilizarov method for the treatment of comminuted supracondylar and intercondylar fractures of the distal femur. Duration: 4 years (April 2007 - March 2011). Prospective observational study. Fifty five patients with comminuted supracondylar and intercondylar fractures of the femur. All cases were followed by postoperative radiographs and clinical assessment. Patients were discharged upon demonstrating ability to bear partial weights and walking and in case of open fractures, wound healing or sufficiently healed wounds enabling patients to return to outpatient department for wound dressings. All patients were assessed in outpatient department weekly for one month and thereafter fortnightly till union or longer as required for rehabilitation to improve functional outcome.In all cases healing was assessed by clinical as well as radiological examination. Results revealed that There were 41 male and 14 female patients. Overall time to union was 14 to 38 weeks, mean 22, median 21, mode 19 and standard deviation was 4.7 weeks. ConclusionsThe Ilizarov fixator in the treatment of comminuted fractures of the distal femur was found to be safe and effective by providing stability and allowing early rehabilitation. Despite the achievement of union with satisfactory alignment, motion of the knee was uniformly limited in the patient pool.