Experiences with external fixation with emphasis on the complications

A series of 157 external skeletal fixations carried out in 135 patients was retrospectively studied with special attention to related complications like incorrect placement of pins, pintrack infections, instability, fistulisation or osteitis. Complications were seen in 31 procedures, eight of these were more or less serious. The results show that external fixation, though indispensable for the treatment of various skeletal affections, is associated with a considerable high risk of complications.