A COMPARISON OF FEMORAL-NECK FIXATION WITH THE RECONSTRUCTION NAIL VERSUS CANCELLOUS SCREWS IN ANATOMIC SPECIMENS

Femoral neck fixation techniques were applied to five matched pairs of autopsy specimens to evaluate the fixation of the Russell-Taylor femo ral nail in ipsilateral neck and shaft fractures of the femur. Reconst ruction nail fixation of the femoral neck was compared with that of th ree parallel screws. 'rhe intact and postfixation femora were subjecte d to an applied bending moment in 0-degrees, 30-degrees, and 90-degree s of simulated hip flexion. The bending stiffness was determined from the load deformation data for each intact femur and then after the app ropriate fixation. The fatigue response of the fixation, presence of o steopenia, degree of fracture reduction, and device alignment showed t hat the stiffness ratio (fixed to normal) of the nail was greater in m ost specimens. There was no statistical difference in retained stiffne ss after cyclic loading between the nail and cancellous screw fixation s. The ultimate strength of the nail was 2.5 times the strength of the screw fixation of the femoral neck. Thus, the nail provided biomechan ically sound fixation of the femoral neck.