RADIOLOGICAL SEQUENCES OF HEALING IN INTERNAL PLATES AND SPLINTS OF DIFFERENT CONTACT SURFACE TO BONE - (DCP, LC-DCP AND PC-FIX)

For several years our attention has been directed towards the damage t o the blood supply brought about by implant contact. The disturbance o f the blood supply results in necrosis and consequent remodelling whic h then results in early temporary porosis and potentially in bone sequ estration. Reduced resistance to local infection may follow. Locally d elayed remodelling may give rise to stress concentrations and thus inc rease the danger of refracture. With this in mind a new approach to pe riosteal splinting has been developed which realizes minimal implant c ontact to preserve the blood supply to the bone. In order to elucidate the sequence of events in healing, time-lapse cinematography has been used to facilitate the comparison of conventional and new plates and internal splints. Fractures of the sheep tibia were recorded radiologi cally at short intervals Samples of these radiographs are displayed fo r comparison. The healing process after application of an internal fix ator (PC-Fix) results in earlier solid union and a more homogeneous bo ne structure.