Early outcomes of surgically managed civilian gunshot femur fractures at a level one trauma unit in Cape Town, South Africa: a retrospective review.

Purpose: To assess the outcome of surgically fixated femur shaft and distal femur fractures following low-velocity civilian gunshot injuries over a 4-year period.

Methods: A retrospective review was conducted on all patients who sustained femur shaft and distal femur fractures from civilian low-velocity gunshot injuries that required definitive surgical fixation between January 2014 and December 2017. Patient demographics, comorbidities, injury characteristics, duration between injury and surgical fixation and presence of complications were captured.