What is new in distal femur periprosthetic fracture fixation?

Distal femoral periprosthetic fractures are on the rise. Increased mortality of these injuries is also evident from recent data. Their incidence and risk factors have been extensively reported in the past but new data are being available that merit attention. The increased incidence and the even higher projected incidence should direct the focus of future strategies to the education of surgeons, relevant capacity of hospital and reconfiguration of health care resources. New and potentially modifiable risk factors should be taken into consideration to the informed consent process and new studies should be developed to clarify the causative relationship of the new risk factors such as the peptic ulcer disease and the COPD. The main internal fixation techniques remain the lateral locking plating and the retrograde intramedullary nailing. New techniques in plating are the supplementary medial plate in selected cases and the far cortical locking. Nailing is considered a valid option especially in fractures located well above the anterior flange of the femoral component of the arthroplasty. Results and outcomes from good quality studies are still sparse regarding the comparison between plating and nailing. Interprosthetic fractures constitute an entity that is lately gaining considerable attention. The best method of management of these injuries is still evolving with considerable amount of work being done in the clinical and biomechanical level.