Open fractures of Tibia treated by unreamed interlocking nailing

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Vol 01| January 2020 | page: 3-6 | Nirmal Chandra Mohapatra, Udit Saurav Sahoo
DOI- 10.13107/ojot.2020.v41i01.003

Authors: Nirmal Chandra Mohapatra [1], Udit Saurav Sahoo [1]

[1] Department of Orthopaedics, SCB Medical College, Cuttack, Odisha, India.

Address of Correspondence

Dr. Udit Sourav Sahoo
SCB Medical College, Cuttack, Odisha, India.
E-mail: uditsouravsahoo@gmail.com

Abstract

Objective: To assess the clinical outcome of unreamed intramedullary interlocking nailing in open fractures of tibia, and to evaluate the incidence of complications in these open fractures as a result of the same.
Methods: Between June 2018 and May 2019, a total of 56 cases of open tibial shaft fractures were operated on with unreamed interlocking nails at SCB MCH, Cuttack, India. Records of 52 patients (18 women and 34 men) were available for study. Only injuries associated with the tibial shaft were included. Traffic accidents were the cause of fractures. All fractures were classified according to Gustilo and Anderson classification for open fractures. There were 28(53.8%) type-I, 16 (30.7%) type-II, 8 (15.3%) type- IIIA fractures. After thorough debridement under anaesthesia, an unreamed interlocking nail was inserted. All nails were locked proximally and distally.
Results: The patients were followed up for a mean period of 19 months (range, 18–24 months) and were evaluated according to the modified Ketenjian’s criteria. Results were good to excellent in 85.8% cases, and poor in 10.7% cases. Only 2 of 8 patients with type-III fractures had good results. Of 56 patients, 6 had superficial infection, 4 had deep infection, 6 had delayed union, 1 had infected non-union, 3 had malunion, 6 had screw breakage, and 10 had anterior knee pain.
Conclusion: Unreamed interlocking tibial nailing can be safely used for type-I and type-II open injuries even with delayed presentation. Use of unreamed nailing in type-III fractures with delayed presentation has high incidence of complications in this study.
Keywords: Unreamed interlocking nail, Open tibial fractures.

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How to Cite this Article: Mohapatra N, Sahoo U S. | Open fractures of tibia treated by unreamed interlocking nailing. | Odisha Journal of Orthopaedics and Trauma | January 2020; 01: 3-6 .  https://doi.org/10.13107/ojot.2020.v41i01.003

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