Study of Functional Outcome of Displaced Tibial Shaft Fracture in Children Treated with Titanium Elastic Nailing System

Introduction: Fractures of tibia are the most common pediatric long bonefracture after forearm and femur fractures. Pediatric tibia fractures are usuallytreated conservatively with closed reduction and cast application; however,operative treatment may be necessary in case of failure of conservativetreatment, open fractures, polytrauma and compartment syndrome. Amongthe various surgical methods, closed reduction and fixation with titanium elasticnailing system is widely used. Methods: This single-centric prospective observational study in 30 patientsat Nepal Medical College Teaching Hospital on period from January 2022to December 2022. Patients included in the study were treated by closedreduction and internal fixation with titanium elastic nailing system and followedfor a period of 6 months. The functional outcome was evaluated on the basisof Flynn’s criteria at the end of 6 months and graded as excellent, satisfactoryand poor. Results: In this study of 30 patients, 21 (70%) cases were male and 9 (30%) werefemale. Mean age of the patient was 8.3 ±1.915 years. Right side (63.4%) wasmore common than left (36.6%) while oblique pattern of fracture (56.7%) wasmost common type. There were no significant limb length discrepancy andother major complications. The outcome according to Flynn’s criteria wasexcellent in 26 (86.66%) cases and satisfactory in 4 (13.33%) cases. Conclusions: Titanium Elastic Nailing System is an effective method of treatmentof displaced tibial shaft fractures in children. It has excellent functional outcomewith minimal complications.