Colley J D, Roper B A
Injury. 1981 Jul;13(1):42-50. doi: 10.1016/0020-1383(81)90089-9.
Sixty consecutive unselected fractures of the femoral shaft have been treated in a Vitrathene brace lined with Plastazote. All fractures were united at an average of 16 weeks with little shortening. The patients were in hospital for an average of 8 weeks and obtained and average of 115 degrees of knee flexion at 6 months after the original injury. To avoid angulation in fractures of the middle and upper thirds of the shaft a pelvic band with the hinge in abduction is necessary. Four other patients referred for treatment, who had delayed union of their fractures, were braced for between 5 and 12 months and all united. The method appears successful and merits further trial. Weight-bearing characteristics of the brace were studied and it was found that 20 per cent of the axial force passed through the brace and 80 per cent through the soft tissues and fracture site.
六十例未经挑选的股骨干骨折患者接受了内衬普拉斯托（Plastazote）的维他烯（Vitrathene）支具治疗。所有骨折平均在16周时愈合，短缩很少。患者平均住院8周，在原始损伤后6个月时平均获得115度的膝关节屈曲度。为避免股骨干中上部骨折出现成角，需要使用外展铰链的骨盆带。另外四名因骨折延迟愈合前来治疗的患者使用支具固定5至12个月后均实现了骨折愈合。该方法似乎很成功，值得进一步试验。对该支具的负重特性进行了研究，发现20%的轴向力通过支具，80%通过软组织和骨折部位。
