Optimising the tip-apex-distance in trochanteric femoral fracture fixation using the ADAPT-navigated technique, a longitudinal matched cohort study

Introduction: The annual incidence of proximal femoral fractures is 100–150/100,000 and continues to increase with an aging population. Cut-out of hip screws after fracture fixation has been quoted as 8% in the literature. The tip-apex distance (TAD) is the strongest predictor for cut-out after operative fracture stabilisation. The aim of this study was to evaluate the novel ADAPT system (Adaptive Positioning Technology, Stryker, USA), a navigation device for intramedullary nailing of trochanteric fractures and its effect on optimising the TAD. This is the first clinical study to evaluate this new technology. Methods: The study group of 36 consecutive patients with a pertrochanteric fracture underwent intramedullary nailing for fracture fixation using ADAPT technology, while the matched control group underwent conventional Gamma-3-nailing. Matching criteria included fracture classification, gender and age. We measured the operative time and the postoperative TAD in anteroposterior (AP) and lateral radiographs of the 72 patients. Results: The mean TAD using ADAPT was 16.9 mm (range 8.4–33.7 mm) compared with 24.9 mm (range 14.6–40.2 mm) in the reference group treated without ADAPT. Using the ADAPT system significantly improved (p < 0.0005) the accuracy of lag screw placement but had no effect on operating time in fixation of femoral pertrochanteric fractures. Conclusion: Working with the novel ADAPT system for positioning the lag screw using the Gamma-3-nail led to a statistically highly significant reduction of the TAD compared to the reference group (p < 0.001). The ADAPT system proved to be a very useful device in achieving higher surgical standards for the treatment of trochanteric fractures with intramedullary nailing. It enables higher accuracy in screw positioning and therefore better placement of the implant.