A study of anterior knee pain after intramedullary interlocking nails used for tibial shaft fractures treatment

Abstract

Background: Tibial shaft fractures remain the more common of all fractures and routinely treated with intramedullary interlocking nail. One of the most common complication is anterior knee pain after intramedullary nailing of tibia fractures. The exact etiology of anterior knee pain after tibia nailing is still debatable and unknown. Methods: We evaluated 48 patients treated for tibia shaft fractures with intramedullary interlocking nail at our institute from the period between January 2016- December 2020. All patients were treated with transtendinous approach by single surgeon. Patients were assessed at follow up and incidences of knee pain were noted. Serial x ray and clinical evaluation were done with VAS score at final follow up. Final clinical outcome evaluated with modified lysholm score. Results: In our study incidence of knee pain remained 33% in overall patients. As per Modified lysholm score 62% patients with excellent outcome followed by 23% good and 15% fair outcome respectively. Conclusion: Proper surgical techniques and correct placement and sizing may alleviate the incidences of anterior knee pain after tibia nailing.