D. Templeman et al., DECISION-MAKING ERRORS IN THE USE OF INTERLOCKING TIBIAL NAILS, Clinical orthopaedics and related research, (339), 1997, pp. 65-70
Seventy-one fractures of the tibial shaft were treated with interlocki
ng intramedullary nails, None of the fractures were treated with stati
c locking of the intramedullary nails, These 71 fractures were studied
to determine whether certain fracture patterns are prone to loss of a
lignment when static interlocking is not used, Loss of alignment was d
efined as shortening of 1 cm or more and/or change in angulation of at
least 5 degrees, Loss of alignment occurred in eight of the 71 (11%)
fractures, Shortening and/or angulation occurred in seven of 22 spiral
and short oblique fractures, and in none of 27 transverse fracture pa
tterns. It was concluded that the dynamically locked and nonlocked mod
es of intramedullary nailing should not be used in the stabilization o
f spiral and oblique fractures of the tibial shaft.