J Korean Fract Soc.  1999 Oct;12(4):786-791.

Use of Gamma Nail in Peritrochanteric Fractures of the femur : A comparative study of Asian-Pacific type with Standard-European type

• Kwun KW
• Kim SK
• Lee SW
• Choi CH
• Shin DK
• Youn YJ

Abstract

PURPOSE : The mismatch of the Standard Gammd nail(SU) in oriental people led to the modification of the delign of its femoral shaft component and use of the Asian-Pacific type(AP). We compared the clinical results of 2 groups of femoral peritrochanteric fractures treated with each type of Gamma nail.
MATERIALS and METHODS
: 65 cases of peritrochanteric fractures of the femur(AP 24 cases, SU 42 cases) were studied with regard to operation time, union time and complications. The cases in each group were similar in fracture pattern, degree of osteoporosis and time interval between trauma and operation.
RESULTS
There were no significant differencef between two groups in operation time, intraoperative blood loss, and union time. Lateral cortical fracture and nail breakage were not observed in AP group but lag screw cutout was more frequent in AP group(8%) than in SU group(2%), but other complications were similar in type and frequency between two groups.
CONCLUSION
: AP Camma nail showed somewhat improved matching with the configuration of Korean femora, but further modification of the design might be needed to solve remained problems such as nail protrusion above trochanter.

Keyword

Femur; Peritrochanteric fractures; Gamma nail; Asian-Pacific type; Standard-European type

MeSH Terms

Femur*
Osteoporosis