title: The treatment of femoral fractures by cast-brace and early walking: a review of seventy-nine patients.
abstract: Seventy-nine cases of fracture of the femoral shaft treated by cast-brace and early walking have been reviewed. Discrepancy in femoral length was assessed by scanogram. The cases were analysed to relate the incidence of shortening greater than 2 centimetres to the type and site of the fracture, and the time which elapsed from injury until the cast-brace was applied. Such shortening was encountered most frequently when the cast-brace was applied within the first two weeks from injury or after six weeks and in those patients with comminuted fractures of the middle third of the femoral shaft.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001915:Braces; D003286:Contracture / Q000209:etiology; D004434:Early Ambulation; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005260:Female; D005264:Femoral Fractures / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D007870:Leg Length Inequality / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D007902:Length of Stay; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013997:Time Factors