Triplane fracture of distal femur in an adult rare case study and review.

A 30-year-old patient sustained the fracture in a motorcycle accident. A triplane-type of fracture of the distal femur was confirmed by CT scan. The trochlear fragment was reduced anatomically and was stabilized with 6.5mm cannulated screws. Once reconstruction of the coronal plane fracture was performed, the split lateral condylar fragment was fixed with a cannulated screw to the medial fragment converting three parts into one fragment. The mechanism of injury seems to be axial load to the distal femur with the knee in short of extension combined with the shearing force from the anteromedial aspect producing an anterior tangential fracture pattern. Triplane fractures are by definition fractures that have a component involving all 3 planes: sagittal, coronal and transverse, commonly seen before physeal fusion. Our case is the first reported case of triplane fracture in distal femur in an adult patient.