OBJECTIVE: to determine, by means of comparative biomechanical tests between the 95o angled blade plate and the dynamic condylar screw (DCS), the one that presents greater compressive load resistance and flexion, and to correlate the failure type presented during the tests with each type of plate. METHODS: Sixty-five porcine femurs were submitted to a 1 cm medial wedge osteotomy, in the metaphysic, to simulate an unstable supracondylar femoral fracture. Osteosynthesis of these pieces was performed: 35 were fixated with a 90o lateral blade plate, and 30 with DCS plates. Another variable studied was the failure type presented in each group, attempting to correlate this with the type of plate. RESULTS: The results showed no statistically significant differences in biomechanical resistance between the two types of plates, or between the failure type and the plate type used in the osteosynthesis. CONCLUSION: THE TWO TYpes of plate behaved in a similar fashion. However, the angled blade plate proved to be superior to the DCS in the flexion test. No statistical difference was observed in failure type or type of plate used.
Femoral fractures; Fracture fixation, internal; Biomechanics
