Economic aspects of the surgical treatment of femoral shaft fractures.
This article evaluates the cost of treatment for 135 patients with femoral haft fractures. The patients were divided into four groups according to the surgical method used for osteosynthesis. 47 patients were operated by AO plating, 30 patients by the Zespol method, 30 by open Kuntscher intramedullary nailing, and 28 by closed Kuntscher or closed interlocking nailing. Of the patients operated using one of the open methods, 39 required at least one fracture reoperation because of local complications in osteosynthesis. A total of 51 femoral fracture reoperations were performed. None of the patients operated by closed intramedullary nailing required reoperation of the fracture. This significantly decreased the cost of treatment in terms of the duration of hospitalization in orthopedic surgery wards and rehabilitation centers. This difference was significantly greater when patients operated by the closed method were compared directly to those requiring reoperation.
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Katedra i Oddział Kliniczny Ortopedii, Slaska Akademia Medyczna, Sosnowiec.