Operative Traction Technique for an Intertrochanteric Femur Fracture in a Patient with Transfemoral Amputation

Abstract

Case: A 53-year-old woman with a history of transfemoral amputation presented to the emergency department with an ipsilateral intertrochanteric femur fracture. Standard fracture tables that use a boot to pull traction are not helpful in these cases, which makes achieving adequate traction for reduction difficult. Conclusion:We describe a unique technique to manipulate an amputated extremity using 2 Schanz pins attached to a weight through a traction rope. This practical technique provided adequate skeletal traction for reduction and internal fixation in our case and can be performed on a standard radiolucent table without the need for special table attachments.Disclosure: The Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest forms are provided with the online version of the article (http://links.lww.com/JBJSCC/C48).