New intramedullary locking nail for olecranon fracture fixation--an in vitro biomechanical comparison with tension band wiring.
BACKGROUND
The aim of this study was to determine the difference in displacement of a newly designed intramedullary olecranon fracture fixation device compared with multifilament tension band wiring after 4 cycles and 300 cycles of dynamic continuous loading.


METHODS
In eight pairs of fresh-frozen cadaver ulnae, oblique olecranon fractures were created and stabilized using either newly designed intramedullary olecranon nail or multifilament tension band wiring. The specimens were then subjected to continuous dynamic loading (from 25 N to 200 N) using matched pairs of cadaveric upper extremities. The Wilcoxon test was used to determine statistical differences of the displacement in the fracture gap.


RESULTS
After 4 cycles and 300 cycles, the displacement in the fracture model was significantly higher in the tension band wiring group than in the intramedullary nailing group.


CONCLUSIONS
The newly designed interlocking nailing system showed higher stability in comparison with multifilament tension band wiring after continuous dynamic loading.
Department of Trauma Surgery and Orthopaedic Surgery, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Mainz, Germany. nowakt@uni-mainz.de
Tobias E
TE
Nowak
Klaus J
KJ
Burkhart
Lars P
LP
Mueller
Stefan G
SG
Mattyasovszky
Torsten
T
Andres
Werner
W
Sternstein
Pol M
PM
Rommens
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D001858:Bone Nails; D001864:Bone Wires; D004551:Elbow Joint / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D005594:Fracture Fixation, Intramedullary / Q000295:instrumentation*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D056740:Olecranon Process / Q000293:injuries* / Q000601:surgery; D011474:Prosthesis Design; D016059:Range of Motion, Articular; D013314:Stress, Mechanical; D014458:Ulna Fractures / Q000601:surgery*; D000092464:Elbow Injuries