Revista medico-chirurgicală̆ a Societă̆ţ̜ii de Medici ş̧i Naturaliş̧ti din Iaş̧i
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Rev Med Chir Soc Med Nat Iasi · Jul 2000
Comparative StudyEnder nailing versus external fixation in the stabilization of type III open tibial shaft fractures.
Management of severe open tibial shaft fractures presents a difficult challenge to the orthopaedic surgeon. They are frequently associated with loss of limb, infection and high levels of morbidity. All the authors considered, now, that there are five keys to successful treatment: antibiotic therapy, radical debridement and pulsed lavage irrigation, stabilization of fracture with minimal further devascularization, early soft tissue coverage and early bone-grafting. It rests, also, a number of controversies in the management of open tibial fractures, not least of which is the method of fracture stabilization: the choice between intramedullary nailing and external skeletal fixation, the use of reamed or unreamed nails. ⋯ Our study suggests that Ender nailing has several advantages over external fixation in the management of severe open tibial shafts fractures. Based on these results, over the last years, in our Department we use mainly the Ender nailing technique, as we consider it a better approach for these type of lesions.