The early healing of tibial osteotomies stabilized by one-plane or two-plane external fixation.
The pattern of early healing of canine tibial osteotomies associated with two different types of external fixation devices was investigated. Two-plane fixation was significantly more rigid than one-plane fixation in three of the five loading conditions that were examined. The more rigid fixation allowed less lateral displacement at the site of the osteotomy, induced less formation of callus early in the healing process, permitted direct bridging by osteons more frequently, and provided healing that was more rigid early in the process of repair. In the later stages of healing there were no differences in the quantity of callus or in the strength of the healing bone. In this canine model, external fixation with higher rigidity resulted in rapid union that differed from the union that resulted after less rigid external fixation only with regard to porosity, torsional stiffness, and displacement at the site of the fracture.
D000818:Animals; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D002146:Bony Callus / Q000502:physiology*; D004285:Dogs; D009984:Orthopedic Fixation Devices; D010027:Osteotomy; D012039:Regional Blood Flow; D013977:Tibia / Q000098:blood supply / Q000502:physiology / Q000601:surgery*; D014945:Wound Healing