Finite element study of intramedullary osteosynthesis in the treatment of trochanteric fractures of the hip: Gamma and PFN.

The ongoing debate surrounding the surgical treatment of trochanteric hip fractures, particularly unstable fractures, has led to continuous changes in the design of well-established implants and to the development of new ones. The goal of this paper was to use a finite element simulation to compare the biomechanical behaviour of two intramedullary implants most often used at the University Hospital of Zaragoza: the standard Gamma nail (Howmedica) and the proximal femoral nail (PFN, Stratec). The main focus was on the displacements of the fracture focus and the stress distributions along the femur and the implant. Both nails produced an important redistribution of stress in the bone tissue, but the redistribution of peak stress was higher for the Gamma nail. On the other hand, with PFN there were smaller displacements at the fracture site. Finally, under the same workload, the Gamma nail supported higher stresses than the PFN.