[Management of metaphyseal nonunions of the femur with retrograde nailing].

We report on the therapy of two hypertrophic, metaphyseal nonunions of the distal femur by retrograde nailing. Two patients with an old nonunion were successfully treated only by interlocking the retrograde nail according to the principle of transfixation. Both cases illustrate that an angular stable fixation might be critical to bony consolidation in the metaphyseal region. If toggling of the nail within the medullary cavity is limited by interlocking at appropriate positions, retrograde intramedullary nailing will provide angular stable fixation.