Ipsilateral fractures of tibia and femur or floating knee

Ipsilateral fractures of the femur and the tibia are relatively uncommon lesions, with critical consequences to the knee. We report a series of 18 ipsilateral fractures of the femur and the tibia treated at the Department of orthopaedics, CHU Hassan II of Fez, over an eight-year period (1996-2004). Various surgical procedures were used, in particular, intramedullary nailing. After an average follow-up of 2.5 years, we re-examined the 18 patients. The functional results were evaluated using the Schiedts' criteria, and we had seven excellent results (38.9%), six good (33.4%), and five bad (27.8%). There was one major lesion of the popliteal artery that led to an emergency amputation, two cases of osteitis, one septic non-union, one case of late deep sepsis, one insignificant shortening of 2 cm, two cases of varus, three cases of stiffness, and one ankylosis of the knee. Through this work we will try to show the repercussions of this type of fracture of the knee and to evaluate our therapeutic choices.