title: Minimally invasive retrieval of incarcerated flexible intramedullary reamer.
abstract: Reaming is an integral step of long bone nailing and is associated with low complication rate. We report a case of a flexible reamer that was broken and incarcerated in the femoral canal during a femoral canal reaming. The reamer was used without a ball-tipped guide wire, and thus, the routine extraction using the guide wire was not possible. The incarcerated reamer was successfully extracted after medullary decompression with small drilling corticotomies adjacent to the reamer head. This case report serves as a reminder of the importance of using the ball-tipped guide wire with a flexible reamer. It also describes a simple and minimally invasive technique of removing an incarcerated flexible reamer.
authors.affiliation: National Orthopaedic Centre of Excellence for Research and Learning (NOCERAL), Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University Malaya Medical Centre, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. lowtzehau@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Tze Hau
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Low
authors.affiliation: National Orthopaedic Centre of Excellence for Research and Learning (NOCERAL), Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University Malaya Medical Centre, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Yean Hwe
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Loke
authors.affiliation: National Orthopaedic Centre of Excellence for Research and Learning (NOCERAL), Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University Malaya Medical Centre, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.|Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, International Medical University, Clinical School, 70300, Seremban, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Chee Kidd
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Chiu
keywords: Corticotomy; Extraction; Femoral nail; Incarcerated reamer; Reamer