APPLICATION OF EXTRACORPOREAL SHOCK-WAVES IN THE TREATMENT OF PSEUDOARTHROSIS OF THE LOWER-EXTREMITY - PRELIMINARY-RESULTS

Between January 1991 and January 1996, pseudarthroses of the legs were treated prospectively in 48 patients by application of high-energy ex tracorporeal shock waves with an experimental device. The mean duratio n of pseudarthrosis was 12 months. On average, 2.4 surgical interventi ons had previously been performed. A total of 3000 impulses with an en ergy density of 0.6 mJ/mm(2) was applied to the pseudarthrosis. Bony u nion was achieved in 60.4% of our patients after an average of 3.4 mon ths. Failures were found especially in the atrophic types of pseudarth rosis as well as in congenital bone disorders like fibrous dysplasia o r osteogenesis imperfecta. No serious complications were observed. Eve n after numerous surgical interventions high-energy extracorporeal sho ck-wave therapy showed a fair success rate. A higher success rate of t his non-invasive method for the treatment of bony non-unions may be ex pected by applying strict selection criteria.