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Published in: European Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery & Traumatology 8/2014

01-12-2014 | Original Article

Reamed versus unreamed intramedullary locked nailing in tibial fractures

Authors: Bogdan Deleanu, Radu Prejbeanu, Dan Poenaru, Dinu Vermesan, Horia Haragus

Published in: European Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery & Traumatology | Issue 8/2014

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Abstract

The purpose of this prospective observational study is to identify whether or not reaming of tibial shaft fractures has benefits over unreamed intramedullary locked nailing. Eighty-four adult patients with recent open and closed tibial shaft fractures were treated with reamed or unreamed intramedullary locked nail fixation. We followed up for 12 months 39 of 43 patients in the unreamed and 38 of 41 patients in the reamed group, respectively. There were no significant differences between the two groups regarding the average time to healing for both clinical (3.2 vs 3.4 months, p = 0.65) and radiological (4.1 vs 4.5 months, p = 0.43) evaluations. The mean duration of surgery was shorter (p = 0.025) for the unreamed group 43 min (SD 18) compared to 55 (SD 27), but the main determinants were the fracture type and the surgeon’s experience. We conclude that reamed nailing proved beneficial, but the impact on overall outcome is not superior to unreamed nailing.
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Metadata
Title
Reamed versus unreamed intramedullary locked nailing in tibial fractures
Authors
Bogdan Deleanu
Radu Prejbeanu
Dan Poenaru
Dinu Vermesan
Horia Haragus
Publication date
01-12-2014
Publisher
Springer Paris
Published in
European Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery & Traumatology / Issue 8/2014
Print ISSN: 1633-8065
Electronic ISSN: 1432-1068
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00590-013-1401-0

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