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Results for “External Fixators”

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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

[Stabilizing the open fracture with the external fixator].

External fixation plays a major role in contemporary trauma care. Indications are not limited to the obviously open fracture but also to cases with severe "closed" soft tissue injuries (contusions, burns etc.). The technique is reviewed and importance of pin placement, fixator geometry, minimal internal fixation and staged fixator removal are stressed. The modern external fixation techniques may be used to obtain bony union or they may be used temporarily switching to definitive internal fixation upon obtention of soft tissue healing.

External Fixators↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Complex femur fractures in children: treatment with external fixation.

External fixation was used to treat complex femur fractures in 10 children. These injuries were associated with head trauma, cerebral palsy, epidermolysis bullosa, open wounds, and failed casting. The duration of external fixation averaged 8 weeks, and the mean follow-up was 5 years 8 months. At follow-up, one patient had 2.6 cm of residual shortening, and two had overgrowth. Complications included one refracture. Three children developed superficial pin site drainage. Although most femur fractures can be treated with traction or casting, external fixation may simplify overall care in children with multiple injuries and is effective in controlling unacceptable femoral shortening and angulation.

Child↗
PubMed1992

Instrumentation for external fixation.

External skeletal fixation is a very useful technique for managing many orthopedic problems in veterinary practice. The Kirschner apparatus has been the most widely used fixator for many years in veterinary orthopedics because of its versatility, simplicity, and economy in use. The medium-sized device has the widest indications and is easiest to begin with. The small size can be acquired later for use on cats and small dogs. The new "raised thread" fixation pin designs improve bone-pin integrity and can be used in combination with nonthreaded pins to decrease the incidence of postoperative complications and for economy. Acrylic-pin external fixators are particularly useful for treatment of mandibular fractures and transarticular application since they allow nonlinear placement of fixation pins in highly contoured bones. A commercial system, currently being developed, will have all the equipment and materials necessary for their application in a convenient kit. Circular fixators (Ilizarov design) use thin K wires placed under tension to replace rigid fixation pins. Their unique adjustability characteristics make them useful in the treatment of limb deformity and shortening. Many other human fixators can be used for veterinary application if the basic principles of fixators are followed. Instrumentation required for external fixator application include a pin driver, pin cutter, and wrenches. Although surgical versions of these materials are available, less expensive alternatives are available using gas sterilization instead of autoclaving. The use of selected orthopedic instrumentation such as a periosteal elevator, bone clamps, and curets will facilitate fracture management.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

[Method of fracture fixation using external fixation devices].

An improvement of the results of treatment can be reached, beside respecting the indication of external fixateurs, with correct tactics of the treatment. Because of the disadvantages of the fixateur externe, we strive to restrict their use, to the time by all means necessary, and if possible to use other methods of fixation. This is motivated especially by the effect on fracture healing and the hindering of the movements and activity of the patient.

Biomechanical Phenomena↗
PubMed1989

[Superior radio-cubital congenital synostosis. Computed tomographic scanning studies and value of osteotomy fixation using an external fixator].

The purpose of this case report was to describe the radiological features by computed tomography and a modification in the fixation of the rotation after the usual transverse osteotomy: an external fixation was used; it allows post-operative vascular assessment with the possibility to derotate the correction in case of circulatory or neural impairment.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1976

[High tibial osteotomy--fixation by means of external fixation--indication, technique, complications (author's transl)].

High tibial osteotomy has proved its value in the treatment of gonarthrosis with or without axis deformity. The thrust of weight-bearing and other stresses is lessened on the degenerated tibial condyle and transferred to the more normal condyle. The stable fixation by means of external fixation allows early movement of the knee joint.-R-ferences to operative technique, indication, complications and after-treatment.

Arthrodesis↗
PubMed1989

Treatment of unstable tibial diaphyseal fractures with minimal internal and external fixation.

We prospectively studied 20 patients whose selected unstable tibial diaphyseal fractures were treated with the combined techniques of minimal internal fixation and external fixation. Five fractures were closed and 15 were open (six Grades I and II, nine Grade III). Seventeen were due to high-energy injuries. The minimum followup was 2 years. All fractures healed, one with malalignment. Time to union averaged 12 weeks in closed fractures and 19 weeks in open fractures. All high-energy fractures underwent bone grafting. The external fixation was removed by dynamization. Thirteen complications occurred in nine patients, all with open fractures. Three of 120 pins became infected (2.5%). Early bone grafting and dynamization of the external fixation prevented the malunions and nonunions reported previously with this technique.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Biomechanics of the Ilizarov external fixator.

The Ilizarov external fixator exhibits more isotropic mechanical properties in bending and nonlinear axial stiffness than do unilateral and bilateral external fixators. Each frame element--wire size, tension, and orientation, as well as ring type--contributes to overall frame rigidity and stability. These factors and the specific clinical situation must be considered for the successful application of the Ilizarov fixator.

Biomechanical Phenomena↗
PubMed1990

A preliminary experience: the Ilizarov external fixator.

The Ilizarov external fixator, though developed over 35 years ago in the Soviet Union, is only now gaining popularity in the United States. Its design and versatility allow the physician to treat a wider range of limb maladies than other external fixation systems (eg, the Hoffmann device). The Ilizarov method of fixation also permits treatment of some orthopedic conditions that were previously considered to be untreatable, such as dwarfism. The device can be used to correct limb length discrepancies, manage open and closed fractures, nonunions, and bony or soft tissue deformities. A review of the first 25 cases performed at the University of Louisville revealed 15 which have been successfully completed with significant, but manageable complications, and 10 cases which are still in progress.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

The role of supplemental lag-screw fixation for open fractures of the tibial shaft treated with external fixation.

Ninety-nine open fractures of the tibial shaft were treated with unilateral external fixation with or without supplemental lag-screw fixation. We compared the results in forty-four fractures in which only external fixation was used (control group) with those in fifty-five fractures that were stabilized with lag-screws and external fixation, and we found no statistically significant differences between the two groups with respect to the time to full weight-bearing, the time to union, or the rates of delayed union, osteomyelitis, malunion, superficial or deep pin-track infection, or loosening of the pins. The limbs in which the fracture was treated with external fixation and supplemental lag-screws had more than twice the rate of refracture of the control limbs (11 compared with 5 per cent), and the percentage of fractures having supplemental lag-screw fixation that needed bone-grafting to achieve union was more than twice that in the group treated with external fixation alone. We concluded that the routine use of supplemental lag-screw fixation is not indicated in patients who have an open fracture of the tibial shaft that has been stabilized with external fixation.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The child with an Ilizarov external fixator.

The Ilizarov External Fixator is gaining popularity as the most effective method to correct limb length deficiencies, correct angular deformities, and aid in the restoration of a limb compromised by traumatic injuries. Nurses caring for a child having this procedure need an understanding of the device application and appropriate nursing strategies.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Classification and nomenclature of external fixators.

Classification of external fixators has graduated from simple device names to a more descriptive system based on frame configuration. Fixators are of the simple pin, clamp, or ring type. Two classification systems are currently being used to categorize fixators. In one, they are defined as type I, type II, or type III fixators. In the second classification system, the categories are more descriptive. Fixators are broadly defined either as unilateral or bilateral. Within each of these categories, there are one-plane or two-plane frames. In veterinary orthopedics, further adjectives, such as double-clamp, single-bar, two-pin single-bar, and double-bar, are employed to describe some of the more popular configurations. Many configurations are not easily definable because complex arrangements of pins and clamps are sometimes necessary to adapt the frame to the fracture bone successfully.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

External fixator pin design.

The integrity of the bone-pin interface is the critical link in the stability of external fixation systems. External fixation pins placed in cancellous metaphyseal bone frequently loosen over time, resulting in fixation failure and an increased risk of infection. To design an external fixation pin with optimal bone-metal interface strength in cancellous bone, a systematic study of various thread design features was performed. Combinations of pitch, tooth profile, and minor diameter in 5 mm self-tapping half pins were evaluated in coaxial pullout testing using a fresh bovine cancellous bone. A significant increase in pullout strength was found with a decrease in minor diameter. No statistical differences were found in pullout strength attributable to thread profile and pitch. There were no significant interactions between minor diameter and tooth profile or minor diameter and pitch. The data obtained suggest significantly greater holding power in cancellous bone can be achieved by using an external fixation pin with a smaller minor diameter or a larger interference. Additional pullout testing of five commercially available external fixator pins was performed. Of these, the two pins with the largest interference demonstrated greater pullout strength. Therefore, within a range of acceptable major diameters and adequate minor diameters for the torsional strength requirements, an optimal interference for cancellous pin application may exist and it may well be larger than that present in currently available external fixation pins.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

The role of external fixation in pelvic disruptions.

External fixation has a definite role in the management of pelvic fractures. Biomechanically, it is not useful for maintaining reduction of the unstable, vertically migrating pelvis and must be used with some other form of treatment, such as traction, spica cast, or internal fixation. In vertically stable fractures, that is, rotationally unstable fractures, the anteroposterior and lateral compression injuries, the external fixator should probably be the first course of treatment.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Structural stiffness of the Hoffmann simple anterior tibial external fixation frame.

Tibial external fixation frames were constructed on aluminum tube simulating tibia bone. A 20-mm gap was left at the fracture site in order to measure the structural stiffness of the frame rather than the aluminum tube. The performance of the frames were experimentally evaluated and quantified using tests which simulated the loading conditions encountered in normal walking. These included axial compression, anteroposterior (AP) bending, lateral bending and torsional loading of the frame. The parameters studied were (a) number of fixation pins, (b) number of connecting rods and (c) location of clamps on the pins. Four constants were evaluated from these tests using various structural configurations of the frames; these resulted in four stiffness coefficients in compression, AP bending, lateral bending and torsion. Stiffnesses of various frames with different geometric configurations were compared by comparing their appropriate stiffness coefficients. Such comparison can set forth a quantitative guideline in selecting a suitable frame configuration for the type of injury and condition of fracture pattern. This type of quantitative analysis can also be useful in modifying the frame during the postoperative bone healing process.

Equipment Design↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Limb lengthening with the Ilizarov external fixator.

The Ilizarov External Fixator is used to lengthen or widen bones, to correct angular or rotational defects, or to immobilize fractures. This article discusses techniques of application and care of the device; physiology and mechanics of limb lengthening and bone regeneration; and nursing strategies to achieve patient compliance and prevent complications.

Bone Lengthening↗