Reamed Interlocking Intramedullary Nailing For Open Fractures of Shaft of Tibia

Abstract

Introduction: With rapid increase in day-to-day traffic, incidences of high-energy trauma are also increasing with the same speed. Open fractures of the tibial shaft are important for the reason that they are common & controversial. Our aims and objectives were to assess the time to bone union and functional outcome in cases of open fractures of the tibial shaft treated with reamed interlocking intramedullary nailing. Methods: Thirty patients who had 30 open fractures of the tibial shaft were treated with wound debridement and primary interlocking intramedullary nailing with reaming during the period from June 2012 to March 2014. The patients were followed up for a period of 6 – 14 months. Results: There were 9 (30 %) Type I fractures, 8 (27%) Type II fractures and 13 (43%) Type IIIA fractures. Mean time to union was 20.25 weeks for Grade I fracture, 22.5 weeks for Grade II, 24.71 weeks for Grade IIIA fractures. Deep infection occurred in 2 patients. Aseptic nonunion occurred in one patient. Malunion was noted in one patient. Interpretation and Conclusion: The results in the current study and other data support the view that reamed locked intramedullary nailing is a safe and effective technique for the management of open tibial fractures. Keywords: Open tibial fractures, Reamed nailing