Ewha Med J.  1994 Mar;17(1):51-57. 10.12771/emj.1994.17.1.51.

Intramedullary Nailing of the Tibial Shaft Fracture: Comparison between Rigid and Flexible Nails

• Yun YH
• Roh KJ

• KMID: 1965000
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.12771/emj.1994.17.1.51

Abstract

To dilrectly coimpare the rigid and flexible jlltrarnedullary nails for the treatment of tibialfractiires, we restrospectively reviewed the clinical result of 108 tibial fractures treated at theEwha Womans University Hospital between January 1987 to June 1993. Twenty-one cases werebelonged to the flexible nail(FN) group, while 87 fractures were included to the rigid(non-locking or interlocking) nail(RN) group. Average period between the injury and fracture union was overall 17.5 weeks(range, 11-67)and it was much shorter in the RN group(15.2 weeks) than the FN group(29.0). Complicationsduring and after treatment in terms of malunion as well as delayed or non-union, were alsomore common in the FN group. However. deep wound infecctions were only found after rigidnailing. In conclusion, in view of the fracture union time and comptication rate, rigid nailing showedbetter results than the flexible one. But the flexible nails had several inherent advantages especially ill the technical aspects of their use.

Keyword

Tivial fracture; Flexible nail; Rigid nail

MeSH Terms

Female
Fracture Fixation, Intramedullary*
Humans
Tibial Fractures
Wounds and Injuries