Paired cadaveric study (n=10 pairs) comparing two short intramedullary nail designs — the single lag screw Gamma3 and the interlocking lag screw Intertan — in an AO/OTA 31A2.2 unstable pertrochanteric fracture model. Cyclic fatigue loading to failure was used to measure construct stiffness, femoral head motion, and survival.
When selecting an intramedullary nail for an unstable, calcar-deficient pertrochanteric fracture (AO/OTA 31A2), interlocking lag screw designs and trapezoidal proximal nail geometry offer measurably better resistance to femoral head rotation, varus collapse, and construct fatigue — the same failure modes that drive early fixation loss clinically.
The dominant failure mechanism in both groups was trochanteric toggling leading to nail medialization, not cutout, underscoring that proximal nail geometry matters as much as lag screw position in truly unstable patterns.
Paired cadaveric study (n=10 pairs) comparing two short intramedullary nail designs — the single lag screw Gamma3 and the interlocking lag screw Intertan — in an AO/OTA 31A2.2 unstable pertrochanteric fracture model. Cyclic fatigue loading to failure was used to measure construct stiffness, femoral head motion, and survival.
When selecting an intramedullary nail for an unstable, calcar-deficient pertrochanteric fracture (AO/OTA 31A2), interlocking lag screw designs and trapezoidal proximal nail geometry offer measurably better resistance to femoral head rotation, varus collapse, and construct fatigue — the same failure modes that drive early fixation loss clinically.
The dominant failure mechanism in both groups was trochanteric toggling leading to nail medialization, not cutout, underscoring that proximal nail geometry matters as much as lag screw position in truly unstable patterns.