Treatment of acute tibial shaft fractures with an expandable nailing system: a systematic review of the literature.

Locked Intramedullary Nailing is an established method of treatment for tibial shaft fractures. Locking of tibial nails is however not without its drawbacks. Locking is time consuming, and is associated with a noteworthy complication rate. The Fixion IM nailing system is an expandable nail designed to eliminate some of these drawbacks. We have performed a systematic review of the literature to determine the safety and efficacy of this system. Publications examining the use of the Fixion system were identified from the MEDLINE and the Cochrane databases. Forty-one citations were generated by the MEDLINE search. Of these, two quasi-randomised trials and eight case series satisfied our selection criteria and were reviewed. Overall the average reoperation rate for the Fixion nail was 10.2%. Shortening occurred in 3% of cases and fracture propagation was reported in 2% of cases. The Fixion cohort united at an average of 12.2 weeks and the average operative time was 54 minutes. The Fixion system eliminated complications and reoperations associated with the use of locking screws. Further studies in the form of randomised controlled trials are needed to evaluate the Fixion system against conventional locked nails.