1- Treatment options for fractures- SA Flashcards
Give 4 options of fracture healing
Intramedullary pin & cerclage wire
Plating (+compression)
Intramedullary nail
External fixator
Pin & tension band
What is the most widely used method of fracture fixation? & which force is it good at counteracting?
Intramedullary pin = good at counteracting bending force
Increasing an intramedullary pins diameter results in?
A disproportionate increase in strength/stiffness = strong at preventing bending
How does retrograde placement of the IM pin differ to normograde?
Retrograde = enters the proximal fragment distally
Normograde = pin is placed from proximal end of the proximal fragment
What 2 forces does the IM Pin achieve poorly? & What can be added to prevent these?
Rotation & axial compression
Add an external fixator
(Transverse fracture)
What is a external fixator?
Series of pins are placed through the skin & connected to a connecting bar (external to the body)
Counteracts all forces applied to a fracture- especially if used in combo with IM pin
List 2 complications of external fixators
Pins prone to infection
Discharge
Requires frequent examinations
Re-application of loose pins
May require staging down
Several follow up radiographs
Describe the difference between a locking or non-locking plate
Non-locking = requires plate to adhere to the screws by friction
Locking = Thread in the plate where the screw engages
List 3 types of bone plates
Buttress plate
Neutralisation plate
Compression plate
What force of plates prone too? & what can be used to prevent this?
Bending = IM pin
Define avulsion fracture
separation of a bone fragment at the attachment point of a tendon or ligament
Produced by distraction forces generated externally
2 methods to treat avulsion/tension fractures
Lag screw = produces rigid fixation
Tension band = produce a compressive force
T/F Avian bone healing is rapid
True
What do you need to consider when choosing a treatment option for fractures
by fracture type and forces that will be applied
What are the primary physiologic forces that act on a normal bone
axial compression
tension
bending
torsion
What is bending
when a limb is placed at an angle to the ground, or there is asymmetrical muscle contraction
What is torsion
when the body changes direction with leg planted on ground
what is an intramedullary pin not good at counteracting
poor at axial compression unless the bone column is reinstated
