Radiation exposure to the patient during closed intramedullary nailing

Material and Method. 39 patients with pertrochanteric femur fracture (n=32) or lower leg fracture (n=7) were treated with closed intramedullary nailin g. The related radiation exposure of the patients was calculated. Results. Osteosynthesis of pertrochanteric fractures took less fluoroscopic time tha n osteosynthesis of lower leg fractures. The effective dose was 14 mSv for nailing osteosynthesis of proximal pertrochanteric fractures and less than 0.1 mSv for osteosynthesis of distal lower leg fractures. Conclusion. Radiation exposure of the patient due to intraoperative fluoros copic imaging during osteosynthesis can be estimated based on the data give n above. Intraoperative observations imply, consequent application of radia tion protection by the orthopaedic surgeons may reduce intraoperative radia tion exposure even more.