Intraoperative Assessment of Coronal Alignment in Distal Femur Fracture Fixation: Technical Trick.

Abstract

Supracondylar femur fractures represent a challenging and common injury treated by many orthopedic surgeons. An array of surgical fixation options has been developed to help the treating surgeon restore normal anatomic alignment of these fractures, and lateral precontoured condylar femoral locking plates have become a common implant for most surgeons in treating these fractures. Although these precontoured plates provide significant benefit to the treating physician in regards to gaining appropriate bony fixation, common technical errors that may lead to malalignment when using these plates have been described. Avoiding these errors will help improve patient outcomes. Here, we describe a novel, inexpensive, and universally available technique that may aid the treating surgeon in restoring coronal alignment when treating distal femur fractures.