Routine application of the pinless external fixator.

Abstract

One serious disadvantage of conventional fixator systems is the need to open the medullary space, hence creating a direct communication with the exterior. The new pinless external fixator does not have this major disadvantage, because the fixator clamps simply rest on the cortical bone without penetrating it. Clinically, this easily managed system is intended for fractures of the tibia in cases in which primary internal fixation is precluded either by precarious local or general conditions or by infrastructural problems. In such situations the new pinless fixator is an excellent device with which to achieve good stabilization of the fracture rapidly, while leaving open all options for subsequent alteration of treatment. If the surgeon decides to convert to locked intramedullary nailing, the pinless fixator facilitates the new approach, because it can be used as a distractor and makes it unnecessary to transfer the patient to a fracture table.