Neglected Broken Femoral Intramedullary Nail Resulting in an Urethrocutaneous Fistula

Abstract

A femur fracture is one of the most commonly encountered fractures by orthopaedicians worldwide. Being one of the longest and strongest bones in the body, it is one of the principal load-bearing bones of the lower extremity. Various modalities of fixation have been tried and tested for femur fracture but the most accepted fixation modality for diaphyseal femur fracture worldwide is the interlocking intramedullary nailing. However, intramedullary nailing is not free of any complications. Complications such as infection, non-union, malunion, limb length discrepancy due to wrong size nail, screw or nail breakage, and injury to neurovascular structures while passing guidewire or drilling for the interlocking bolt are commonly reported. We report a case of a patient who presented with a neglected broken femoral nail which resulted in an urethrocutaneous fistula. As per our literature review, this complication has never been reported before.