Titanium elastic intramedullary nailing: closed or mini-open reduction ?

The authors retrospectively studied 43 children with femoral fractures, treated with titanium elastic nailing (TEN). Twenty-two underwent closed fluoroscopic reduction (Group I), whereas the other 21 underwent mini-open reduction (Group II). The operation time averaged 71 minutes in group I, and 48 minutes in group II (p < 0.001). The mean fluoroscopy time was 79.3 seconds in group I, and 35.5 seconds in group II (p < 0.001). However, blood loss and hospital stay were significantly higher in group II (p < 0.001 and p = 0.001 respectively). Time to full weight bearing, time to radiographic union and TEN outcome score did not differ significantly. Overall, no one technique was really superior. From a practical viewpoint, a mini-open reduction may be decided intra-operatively if closed reduction proves to be problematic. This decreases intra-operative radiation and length of the surgical procedure.