Mechanical Failure in Intramedullary Interlocking Nails

Mechanical failure in intramedullary interlocking nails.

PURPOSE To study clinical and mechanical factors that predispose to failure of interlocking nails. METHODS Between October 1996 and December 2002, 286 femoral fractures, 211 tibial fractures, and 47 humeral fractures were repaired using variously designed interlocking nails. Fracture pattern, level and site, nail size and type, weight bearing after nailing, and union status were reviewed afte...

Mechanical failure of intramedullary nails after fracture union.

The case reports of four patients with breakage of the intramedullary nail of the femur are presented. In all four patients the nail broke after consolidation of the fracture of the femoral shaft. All the nails broke at the same place: the junction between the round cross-section and the cloverleaf cross-section.

Radiation-Free Drill Guidance in Interlocking of Intramedullary Nails

Intramedullary nailing is a technically demanding procedure which involves an excessive amount of x-ray acquisitions; one study lists as many as 48 to successfully complete the procedure. In this work, a novel low cost radiation-free drilling guide is designed to assist surgeons in completing the distal locking procedure without any x-ray acquisitions. Using an augmented reality fluoroscope tha...

Perceptions and Realities for Distal Freehand Interlocking of Intramedullary Nails

There is a perception that distal freehand interlocking (DFHI) of intramedullary nails can be difficult and time consuming. This study consists of a survey of surgeons' practices for DFHI screws and their reasons for not using this technique. A survey was sent to 1400 orthopaedic surgeons who were asked to agree or disagree with statements regarding the difficulty and indications for the usage ...

Evaluation of Cyclic Cut-Out Failure in Intramedullary Nails: A Comparison Between Single Lag Screws and Integrated Interlocking Screws