title: Flexible nailing of fractures in children using stainless steel Kirschner wires.
abstract: Elastic titanium nails are widely used for the established procedure of Elastic Stable Intramedullary Nailing (ESIN), but are costly. Thirty-five diaphyseal fractures in various long bones in children were treated by flexible nailing using stainless steel Kirschner (K) wires. The results were comparable with reports by other authors using titanium nails and stainless steel K wires. Cost-effective K wires and instrumentation are easily available. A stainless steel K wire is 92% cheaper than a Nancy nail and 84% cheaper than a Synthes titanium elastic nail. K wires can be used for flexible nailing of fractures in children with results comparable with those after using titanium nails.
authors.affiliation: Trauma and Orthopaedics, Mersey Deanery, Liverpool, UK. shashankdc@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Shashank D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Chitgopkar
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001858:Bone Nails / Q000191:economics; D001864:Bone Wires / Q000191:economics*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D017046:Cost Savings; D005260:Female; D005264:Femoral Fractures / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005593:Fracture Fixation, Internal / Q000191:economics* / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D017102:Fracture Healing / Q000502:physiology; D050723:Fractures, Bone / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D006810:Humeral Fractures / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery; D015601:Injury Severity Score; D008297:Male; D018583:Pliability; D011859:Radiography; D011885:Radius Fractures / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery; D020127:Recovery of Function; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013978:Tibial Fractures / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014458:Ulna Fractures / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery