Abdulsamad MA, AlMugren TS, Saeed AI, Alrogy WA, Alanazi LD, Alsaqer OM, Alanbar FT, Alfarraj AH, Aljaafri ZA. Clinical outcomes of humeral shaft fractures managed with intramedullary K-wires: A closed reduction approach. World J Orthop 2026; 17(1): 112006 [DOI: 10.5312/wjo.v17.i1.112006]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Ziad A Aljaafri, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Ministry of the National Guard - Health Affairs, Prince Muteb Road, Riyadh 11426, Saudi Arabia. z.aljaafri@gmail.com
Research Domain of This Article
Orthopedics
Article-Type of This Article
Retrospective Cohort Study
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Orthop. Jan 18, 2026; 17(1): 112006 Published online Jan 18, 2026. doi: 10.5312/wjo.v17.i1.112006
Clinical outcomes of humeral shaft fractures managed with intramedullary K-wires: A closed reduction approach
Mohammad Adham Abdulsamad, Turki S AlMugren, Abdullah I Saeed, Waleed A Alrogy, Linah D Alanazi, Ohud M Alsaqer, Faisal T Alanbar, Abdulrahman H Alfarraj, Ziad A Aljaafri
Mohammad Adham Abdulsamad, Turki S AlMugren, Abdullah I Saeed, Waleed A Alrogy, Ohud M Alsaqer, Faisal T Alanbar, Abdulrahman H Alfarraj, Ziad A Aljaafri, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Ministry of the National Guard - Health Affairs, Riyadh 11426, Saudi Arabia
Mohammad Adham Abdulsamad, Turki S AlMugren, Abdullah I Saeed, Waleed A Alrogy, Linah D Alanazi, Ohud M Alsaqer, Faisal T Alanbar, Abdulrahman H Alfarraj, Ziad A Aljaafri, King Abdullah International Medical Research Center, Riyadh 11481, Saudi Arabia
Linah D Alanazi, Ziad A Aljaafri, College of Medicine, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Riyadh 11481, Saudi Arabia
Author contributions: Abdulsamad MA, Almugren TS, Saeed AI, Alrogy WA, Alanbar FT, Alfarraj AH, and Aljaafri ZA developed the idea and designed the methods; Alanazi LD, Alsaqer OM, and Aljaafri ZA collected the data; Alanazi LD, Alsaqer OM, and Aljaafri ZA analyzed, interpreted, and presented the results; Abdulsamad MA, Alrogy WA, Saeed AI, and Aljaafri ZA critically revised the manuscript for content and finalization; all authors wrote the manuscript and critically reviewed and approved the final draft, and are responsible for the content and similarity index of the manuscript.
Institutional review board statement: This study was approved by King Abdullah International Medical Research Center Ethics Committee (approval No. 0000074524).
Informed consent statement: Patients were not required to give informed consent to the study because the analysis used anonymous clinical data that were obtained after each patient agreed to treatment by written consent.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
STROBE statement: The authors have read the STROBE Statement-checklist of items, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the STROBE Statement-checklist of items.
Data sharing statement: All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this published article.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Ziad A Aljaafri, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Ministry of the National Guard - Health Affairs, Prince Muteb Road, Riyadh 11426, Saudi Arabia. z.aljaafri@gmail.com
Received: July 16, 2025 Revised: September 27, 2025 Accepted: November 25, 2025 Published online: January 18, 2026 Processing time: 178 Days and 6.4 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Humeral shaft fractures are common and vary by age, with high-energy trauma observed in younger adults and low-impact injuries in older adults. Radial nerve palsy is a frequent complication. Treatment ranges from nonoperative methods to surgical interventions such as intramedullary K-wires, which promote faster rehabilitation and improved elbow mobility.
AIM
To evaluate the outcomes of managing humeral shaft fractures using closed reduction and internal fixation with flexible intramedullary K-wires.
METHODS
This was a retrospective cohort study analyzing the medical records of patients with humeral shaft fractures managed with flexible intramedullary K-wires at King Abdulaziz Medical City, using non-random sampling and descriptive analysis for outcome evaluation.
RESULTS
This study assessed the clinical outcomes of 20 patients treated for humeral shaft fractures with intramedullary K-wires. Patients were predominantly male (n = 16, 80%), had an average age of 39.2 years, and a mean body mass index of 29.5 kg/m2. The fractures most frequently occurred in the middle third of the humerus (n = 14, 70%), with oblique fractures being the most common type (n = 7, 35%). All surgeries used general anesthesia and a posterior approach, with no intraoperative complications reported. Postoperatively, all patients achieved clinical and radiological union (n = 20, 100%), and the majority (n = 13, 65%) reached an elbow range of motion from 0 to 150 degrees.
CONCLUSION
These results suggest that intramedullary K-wire fixation may be an effective option for treating humeral shaft fractures, with favorable outcomes in range of motion recovery, fracture union, and a low rate of intraoperative complications.
Core Tip: This study aimed to present the clinical outcomes of humeral shaft fractures managed with intramedullary K-wires in a closed reduction approach. We believe that our study makes a significant contribution to the literature because dealing with humeral shaft fractures is somehow quite common, and the type of management is crucial. Identifying the type of fixation and different options is important in optimizing the outcomes in addition to patients’ satisfaction and regain of function as soon as possible. This study offers good evidence regarding the effectiveness of the technique utilized in the management of humeral shaft fractures, addressing key gaps in the current literature.
