A retrospective study was done on the outcome of supracondylar femoral fractures treated with retrograde or supracondylar intramedullary nails. Between January 1998 and December 2000, 69 patients were treated with Russell Taylor nails, 30 at Kalafong Hospital and 39 at Pretoria Academic Hospital. Injuries had resulted from motor vehicle accidents in 27 patients, from falls in 32 and from gunshots in 10. There were 13 open fractures and 14 patients had multiple injuries, including three head injuries and two vascular injuries. Using the AO classification, 40 fractures were graded type A and 29 type C. The mean age of the 18 female and 51 males was 45 years (17 to 90). Senior registrars performed the surgery. In all cases, the knee was opened for the procedure. Four patients died from their injuries. The mean time to union was 13 weeks. Four patients had poor range of motion. Complications included two cases of superficial sepsis and three of deep sepsis. There were two cases of delayed union and three of fixation failure. In one patient the fixation impinged on the patella. We find this a good way of treating supracondylar femoral fractures.
