[Interlocking nailing of compound lower leg fractures]

Seventy-eight patients with lower leg fractures treated by interlocking nailing at the hospital in Schwaz were reviewed. The overall results were satisfying. There were nine misalignements, two of which underwent subsequent correction. Two infections took place, one after precipitant bone grafting at another place and another one following new trauma. Seven first and five second degree open fractures had an uneventful healing. Interlocking nailing was found to be the treatment of choice for compound fractures with open or closed soft tissue injury of first or second degree after Tscherne. Compared with a previous study about ski injuries, complex fracture patterns combined with severe closed soft tissue lesions showed an increasing incidence during the last ten years. This contrast with the decreasing number of ski injuries in general.