title: A mechanical comparison of the immediate stability of three fixation devices used in wrist arthrodesis: a cadaveric study.
abstract: This study was designed to determine which of 3 fixation devices used in wrist arthrodesis provides the greatest immediate stability along 2 axes of movement. Twenty cadaver wrists were mechanically tested. Group 1 consisted of 7 wrists stabilized using a 2.3-mm Steinmann pin. Six wrists from the second group were immobilized with a 9-hole, 3.5-mm AO dynamic compression plate. The third group consisted of 7 wrists stabilized with an 8-hole, short-bend, precontoured low-contact dynamic compression plate. Stiffness and fracture force were determined in both forced flexion and forced pronation. The results showed that the Steinmann pin was the least stable of the 3 constructs in both axes of movement. No differences were observed between the 2 compression plates for either of the 2 axes of movement.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Centre Hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Morelli
authors.forename: P G
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: Harris
authors.forename: J V
authors.initials: JV
authors.lastname: Fowles
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Boudreault
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: El-Maach
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yahia
mesh_terms: D001174:Arthrodesis / Q000295:instrumentation*; D001858:Bone Nails; D001860:Bone Plates; D002102:Cadaver; D006801:Humans; D016268:Internal Fixators; D013314:Stress, Mechanical; D014955:Wrist Joint / Q000502:physiology / Q000601:surgery*