The anterior curve of the adult femur in a Kenyan population and its mismatch with available intramedullary nails

Abstract

Background: There are currently no studies which have documented the anterior femoral curvature in Kenya or elsewhere in Africa, and compared it to the curvature of the available intramedullary nails.

Objective: To determine the anterior femoral curvature in cadaveric femora and to compare this with the curvatures of locally available femoral intramedullary nails.

Methods: We determined the radii of 66 cadaveric femora by the method described by Karakas and Harma. The radii of locally available femoral intramedullary nails were also obtained from the respective product monographs.

Results: We found that the radius of the curvature ranged from 52.02cm to 165.82cm with a mean of 96.4cm and standard deviation of 25.61cm. The radii of locally available intra-medullary nails ranged from 127cm to 200cm.

Conclusion: The radius of curvature of the adult femora in Kenyans is less than that of other populations. There was a large mismatch between the available intramedullary nails and the femoral curvature. Further study of the complications resulting from this mismatch and a review of the design of the nails for local use is recommended.