TECHNOLOGY UPDATE: PINLESS EXTERNAL FIXATOR

Pinless fixator is an outstanding system designed for external fixation without invading the medullary canal in polytrauma patients. The pinless external fixation allows immediate stabilization and reduction of compound tibial fractures with or without skin loss. This is an ideal tool for emergency stabilization of tibial fractures in a peripheral setup because the application technique is easy to learn by general surgeons. This device can be applied quickly even under local anaesthesia, average application time being 20 minutes in our setup. It does not transfix the bone and therefore avoids the contamination of the medullary canal and thus does not preclude the use of any further treatment methods eg. repeated wound debridement, soft tissue coverage and internal fixation of the fracture. Transportation to referral centre can be done after application of the external fixator if considered necessary in patients with multiple injuries.