title: The influence of intramedullary fixation on figure-of-eight wiring for surgical neck fractures of the proximal humerus: a biomechanical comparison.
abstract: The resistance to torsional load was measured in a human cadaver model of a surgical neck fracture. Ten fresh-frozen human cadaver shoulders were thawed, dissected free of soft tissue attachments, and analyzed with dual energy x-ray absorptiometry to establish bone mineral density. Osteotomies were fixed with figure-of-eight wire alone and figure-of-eight wire supplemented with intramedullary Enders rods. Intramedullary Enders rods improved the mean maximum load by 1.5 times (p < 0.05). No statistically significant correlation was found between mean maximum load and bone mineral density.
authors.affiliation: Shoulder Service Hospital, University of Pennsylvania, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA.
authors.forename: G R
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.forename: L A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Copley
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Iannotti
authors.forename: S P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Lisser
mesh_terms: D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D001864:Bone Wires; D002102:Cadaver; D005593:Fracture Fixation, Internal / Q000379:methods*; D005594:Fracture Fixation, Intramedullary; D006801:Humans; D012784:Shoulder Fractures / Q000601:surgery*