Femoral condylar locking compression plates: a case series. The Rural District General Hospital Experience

Most studies regarding the use of locking condylar plates in distal femoral fractures have been carried out in tertiary centres. The aim of this case series was to examine outcomes for patients managed in a rural setting and to answer the question: ‘should we be shipping these patients out to a regional trauma centre?’ Recent insertions of condylar locking compression plates (LCPs) at a rural district general hospital were examined. (All used the Synthes LCP Condylar Plate 4.5/5.0 periarticular plating system). Their clinical records and radiology were reviewed to identify failure rates and facilitate discussion of such cases. Of 36 reviewed cases, 4 instances of failure were identified (11%), and their cases are discussed individually herein. This review not only affords the opportunity to discuss cases of failure and to speculate upon their potential causes, but also highlights reassuringly high quality of outcomes for these patients outside of larger teaching hospitals.