A Prospective Study of Functional Outcome of both Bone Forearm Fractures Managed with Titanium Elastic Intramedullary Nail in Pediatric Age Group

Abstract

Both bone forearm fractures are some of the common orthopedic injuries in children and these are reasons for serious co-morbidities. It is not only crucial to properly treat them, but also critical to understand the overall affects that may have on a child, possibly restricting physical activity. Almost 40% or more of pediatric fractures are forearm fractures. The majority of these fractures are managed by conservative care, including closed reduction and immobilization with a cast. A known failure rate has been estimated to range from 7% to 32%. Currently, open compression plating and flexible intramedullary nailing are the two surgical therapy techniques most frequently used. Each modality has benefits and drawbacks. This study's objective is to evaluate the functional outcome and complications of titanium elastic nailing in pediatric patients with both-bone forearm fractures. In our study, majority of the patients were boys, with an average age of 10.5 years being the most common, and self-fall while playing was the most common mode of injury. The surgery required minimum dissection, short operation time with hardly any risks of intraoperative complications. The average fracture union time was 8.9 weeks with a range of 7 to 11 weeks with patients recovering near normal functions of forearm at the earliest. We didn’t encounter any major post-operative complications in our study, and of the patients had excellent range of motion at wrist, elbow and radio-ulnar joints and had satisfactory range of motion. It can be concluded from our study that Titanium elastic nailing system has great results with benefits of early union, excellent recovery of function, minimal invasive surgery, and shortened surgical time in pediatric population for both bone forearm shaft fractures.