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Review
. 2019 Dec 27;11(12):e6483.
doi: 10.7759/cureus.6483.

Dual Plating of the Distal Femur: Indications and Surgical Techniques

Arnab Sain  1 , Vijay Sharma  1 , Kamran Farooque  1 , Muthukumaran V  1 , Kirubakaran Pattabiraman  1
Affiliations
Review

Dual Plating of the Distal Femur: Indications and Surgical Techniques

Arnab Sain et al. Cureus. .

Abstract

Dual-plating of the distal femur is required in some cases to achieve stable fixation. The indications of a medial plate in addition to the lateral plate are medial supracondylar bone loss, low trans-condylar bicondylar fractures, medial Hoffa fracture, peri-prosthetic distal femur fractures, non-union after failed fixation with single lateral plate, poor bone quality and comminuted distal femur fractures (AO type C3). We recommend orthogonal plate configuration with locked plates by a single incision or dual incision approach as per surgeon choice.

Keywords: distal femur; dual-plating; medial plate fixation.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Failure of fixation with a single lateral plate in a 55-year-old patient with an open fracture and medial supracondylar bone loss. Note the medial bone loss of more than 2 cm.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Revision with a medial plate and bone grafting.
Figure 3
Figure 3. Non-union after single lateral plate fixation.
Figure 4
Figure 4. Revision with medial plate augmentation and bone grafting.
Figure 5
Figure 5. 3D CT image showing a comminuted distal femur fracture in a 35-year-old male patient.
Figure 6
Figure 6. Failure following single lateral plate fixation.
Figure 7
Figure 7. Revision with dual plating and bone grafting was done.
Figure 8
Figure 8. Knee flexion beyond 90 degrees in the follow-up.
Figure 9
Figure 9. Single-incision lateral para-patellar incision used for the dual-plating distal femur. Also, note the orthogonal plating configuration used.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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