Management of ipsilateral supracondylar femur fractures following total knee arthroplasty

Abstract

A complete review of the literature revealed 195 fractures in 12 published studies of ipsilateral supracondylar femur fractures occurring about a total knee arthroplasty. This review included general surveys, multicenter studies, and case reports. Based on these studies, the authors divided the fractures into nonoperative and operative treatment groups. The fracture types were also subclassified into nondisplaced (Neer type 1) and displaced (Neer types 2 and 3). Statistical analysis of each type of fracture in terms of the various treatments and clinical outcome was performed. This study revealed satisfactory results in 83% of the patients with nondisplaced fractures that were treated without surgery. In contrast, 64% of all patients with displaced fractures that were treated with or without surgery had satisfactory outcomes. This difference is statistically significant (P < .05). Of the patients with displaced fractures, nonoperative versus operative results were not statistically significant (P < .9) (67% satisfactory vs 61%). A treatment algorithm is proposed based on the above data.