Is immediate weight bearing safe for subtrochanteric femur fractures in elderly patients treated by cephalomedullary nailing? A multicentric study in one hundred eighty-two patients

Biomechanical superiority of intramedullary nails over extramedullary implants has been proved for subtrochanteric fractures. Nevertheless, postoperative management of these patients has not changed, with high rates of protected weight-bearing after intramedullary nailing.

The purpose of this study is to determine the mechanical complications of immediate postoperative full weigh-bearing for subtrochanteric femur fractures in elderly patients treated with a cephalomedullary nail.

We performed a retrospective case series study from patients treated with a cephalomedullary nail for subtrochanteric fractures (AO/OTA 31A.3 and 32A-32C) over a nine-year period.

Patients in the immediate full weight-bearing (IFWB) group received orders for immediate full weight bear as tolerated on postoperative 48 h. Patients in the non- or limited- weight-bearing (NLWB) group received orders not to full weight bear in the immediate postoperative.

There were five (2.7%) cases of implant failure including four cutouts and one nail breakage that needed a reoperation. Of them, one (2.2%) followed the NLWB protocol and four (2.9%) followed the IFWB protocol.

Mean length of stay was 7.9 days (median 8, range 3–21) in the NLWB group and 10.7 days (median 8, range 2–60) in the IWBAT group. The NLWB group observed a 2.8-day shorter postoperative length of stay when compared to the IFWB, but the median remained equal.

This study suggests that geriatric patients with subtrochanteric fractures treated by intramedullary nailing and in which a good fracture reduction was achieved, may be able to tolerate immediate postoperative full weight-bearing, not increasing reoperation rates due to implant failure.