Abstract

Objective: To assess and contrast the outcomes of two distinct treatment approaches—interlocking nail and plating—for tibial shaft fractures. Study design: Randomized controlled trial.

Place & Duration of study: Department of Orthopaedics & Traumatology Gujranwala teaching hospital Gujranwala from January 2023 to February 2024. Methodology: Sixty three patients with closed tibial shaft fractures were divided into two equal groups at random and treated with plating or closed interlocking nails. At the one-year follow-up, postoperative outcomes were evaluated using the Ekeland and Thoresen criteria, and they were ranked as excellent, good, fair, or bad. For each group, complications such as knee stiffness, delayed union, nonunion, and infection were measured and compared. Results: The interlock group's mean age was 31±8 years, whereas the plating group's was 35.1±9 years. 82% of patients saw good results from interlocking nail, whereas 56% experienced interlocking (p = 0.04). There was no postoperative infection, delayed union, knee pain, or screw breakage in the interlocking nail group, whereas there were 24%, 8%, 4%, and 2% (p value = 0.05) in the plating group. Conclusions: Tibial shaft fractures treated with interlocking nail gave excellent results with minimal postoperative complications than plating. We therefore recommend interlocking nail as a treatment of choice for treating such fractures.