Clinical and radiological outcomes of patients treated with the talon distalfix proximal femoral nail for intertrochanteric femur fractures. Issue 4 (April 2020) - Yapici, Furkan
Highlights: The Talon-PFN could be a safe and effective alternative to other PFN designs with similar clinical and radiological outcomes. The Talon-PFN is successful in terms of fracture healing as bone union was achieved in all fractures. Talon deployment and the integral locking mechanism of this implant seem to prevent mediolateral migration of the lag screw. Abstract: Background: The Talon™ DistalFix™ Proximal Femoral Nail (Talon-PFN) is a new proximal femoral intramedullary nail designed for the treatment of intertrochanteric femoral fractures. This study aimed to report the clinical and radiological outcomes of patients treated using a proximal femoral intramedullary nail with a novel design. Methods: Patients with either stable or unstable (AO/OTA type 31-A1, 2, 3) intertrochanteric fractures who were treated with the Talon-PFN between October 2014 and January 2018 in our department participated in this retrospective study. Patients' demographics, clinical characteristics, and functional and radiographical outcomes were evaluated. Results: A total of 110 patients (65 females, 45 males) with a mean age of 80.6 ± 9.1 years participated in this study. The mean follow-up time was 24 ± 13.4 months. The overall mortality rate during follow-up was 50.48%. The most common perioperative complications were a malposition of the femoral neck screw and talon cutout, both of which occurred in 17 patients (15.5%). The most common complications observed during follow-up were a lesser trochanter nonunion/malunion in 34 patients (30.9%), valgus malunion in 18 patients 16.4%), lateral screw migration in four patients (3.6%), and varus malunion in 15 patients (13.7%). A late screw cutout through the femoral head was seen in four patients (3.6%). At least one complication was detected in 53 patients (48.2%). However, revision surgery was performed in only six of these cases (5.5%). Conclusion: According to the results obtained in this study, the Talon-PFN, which has similar clinical and radiological outcomes compared to other proximal femoral intramedullary nail designs according to the reported studies, can be a suitable alternative in the treatment of intertrochanteric fractures.