Abstract: Introduction: The aim of this study was to evaluate the anatomical and functional results of locked condylar plate osteosynthesis in distal femur fractures in elderly Togo patients.
Patients and Method: It was a continuous prospective study with descriptive and analytical aims, conducted over a period of 4 years 6 months, from 1 January 2019 to July 2023. The AO/OTA classification was used for the radiological classification of fractures. The walk was measured by the Parker score. Functional outcome of the knee was evaluated using the MEGY functional score. The population of study was 32 cases. The mean age of the patients was 74.25 years, and the most affected group was 35-45 age. Both sexes were equally represented. Fall at home were responsible of 43.8% distal femoral fracture in patients aged over 60 years old. Fractures were open in 18.8%. In 15.6% cases, these lesions were associated to polyfractures and/or polytrauma and in 3 cases we found "floating knee".
AO/OTA A2 type fractures were the most frequent (25%). The average operating time was 25.3 days. The locked condylar plate was the implant used in all our patients. The average operating time was 2h05min.
Results: The rehabilitation was started early in 87.5% of patients. The mean time to consolidation was 4 months. Residual knee pain was the most common late complication (62.5%), followed by knee osteoarthritis (15.6%), knee stiffness (15.6%), and mortality (9.4%). The functional outcome was very good in 18.8% of cases and good in 46.9%.
Conclusion: Osteosynthesis using locked condylar plates for distal femur fractures in patients over 60 years of age must combine stability and solidity with short operability times in order to achieve a good functional result and avoid mortality. Despite our difficult working conditions, anatomical results were good in 59.4% of cases.
