To directly compare the rigid and flexible intramedullary nails for the treatment of tibial fractures, we restrospectively reviewed the clinical result of 108 tibial fractures treated at the Ewha Womans University Hospital between January 1987 to
June
1993. Twenty-one cases were belonged to the flexible nail(FN) group, while 87 fracture were included to the rigid(nonlocking or interlocking) nail(RN) group.
Average period between the injury and fracture union was overall 17.5 weeks(range, 11-67)and it was much shorter in the RN group(15.2 weeks) than the FN group(29.0). complications during and after treatment, in terms of terms of malunion as well
as
delayed or non-union, were also more common in the FN group. However, deep wound infections were only found after rigid nailing.
In conclusion, in view of the fracture union time and complication rate, rigid nailing showed better results than the flexible one. But the flexible nails had several inherent advantages especially in the technical aspects of their use.
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