The influence of intramedullary fixation on figure-of-eight wiring for surgical neck fractures of the proximal humerus: a biomechanical comparison.
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.
Williams
G R
GR
Shoulder Service Hospital, University of Pennsylvania, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA.
Copley
L A
LA
Iannotti
J P
JP
Lisser
S P
SP
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*