The use of Ender nails in fractures of the tibial shaft. J Bone Joint Surg Am 1985 Mar;67(3):446-55
Date
03/01/1985Pubmed ID
3972870Scopus ID
2-s2.0-0021918499 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 25 CitationsAbstract
Between November 1979 and January 1983, we treated fifty-one severe fractures of the tibial shaft with multiple intramedullary Ender nails. Thirty-six fractures were treated within two weeks after injury. Forty-one fractures united in less than four months and eight, in four to eight months. Only two were not united after eight months. An anatomical reduction was maintained in all but three of the fractures, in which the tibia shortened. Two tibiae united with an angulation of 7 degrees and one with 6 degrees, as measured in two planes. There were two infections, both after an open fracture. It has been our experience that Ender nails provide excellent rotational stability, allow early full weight-bearing, and markedly decrease the duration of need for immobilization. Ender nailing was of value both for the acute management of complicated high-energy fractures of the tibial shaft with extensive soft-tissue damage and as a salvage procedure to maintain reduction of a fracture when other techniques had failed.
Author List
Mayer L, Werbie T, Schwab JP, Johnson RPAuthor
Jeffrey P. Schwab MD Adjunct Professor in the Orthopaedic Surgery department at Medical College of WisconsinMESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
AdolescentAdult
Aged
Bone Nails
Early Ambulation
Follow-Up Studies
Fractures, Open
Humans
Leg Length Inequality
Middle Aged
Radiography
Tibial Fractures
Wound Healing