Femur Shaft Fracture in a Polio Patient

J Orthop Case Rep. 2022 Mar;12(3):9-12. doi: 10.13107/jocr.2022.v12.i03.2694.

Abstract

Introduction: Although poliomyelitis is on the verge of eradication, the survivors of this disease are still living with its complications. Polio survivors with its musculoskeletal complications will continue to be a part of our population for many more decades'. Although poliomyelitis in itself is not common today, fractures in polio affected patients' limbs are a common entity and are difficult to manage with common fracture management protocols.

Case presentation: This study presenting a case of 58-year-old male with alleged history of twisting of the right lower limb while walking. X-rays suggested fracture right shaft femur. Patient had a history of poliomyelitis with the right lower limb affection and had a fixed flexion deformity of 15° at the right knee joint. The patient had to undergo two surgeries. In the first procedure, distal femur plating was done through lateral approach. Due to radiological signs of non-union, in the next procedure, additional medial plate was added and bone grafting was done to ensure stable fixation and union.

Conclusion: Treating a fracture in a polio affected limb is a challenging task taking into consideration the previous bony deformity as well as the myopathy. Knowledge of treating these fractures as well as pre-operative planning is important to a trauma surgeon as such scenarios are not very rare.

Keywords: PRPP; Poliomyelitis; bone grafting; distal femur fracture; plating.

Publication types

  • Case Reports