Strength of surgical wire fixation. A laboratory study

Area of Science:

• Orthopedic Surgery
• Biomedical Engineering
• Materials Science

Background:

• Stainless steel wire is frequently utilized in spinal surgery for fracture fixation.
• Evaluating the relative strength of different wire fixation methods is crucial for surgical outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the most effective and practical method for securing stainless steel wire in spinal surgery.
• To compare the tensile strength of various wire fixation techniques.

Main Methods:

• Laboratory testing of multiple stainless steel wire fixation techniques, including square knots, knot twists, symmetric twists, AO loop-tuck, wire wrap, and AO loop.
• Assessment of resistance against tension loads for each fixation method.

Main Results:

• Symmetric twists, square knots, knot twists, and AO loop-tuck techniques provided acceptable fixation strength.
• Wire wrap and AO loop techniques were deemed unacceptable due to insufficient strength.
• The double symmetric twist was found to be barely acceptable.
• The symmetric twist technique demonstrated optimal practicality, strength, tension maintenance, and minimal wire damage.

Conclusions:

• The symmetric twist technique is recommended for spinal surgery wire fixation due to its superior practicality and strength.
• Optimizing symmetric twist fixation requires a minimum of two tightly pitched twists for enhanced stability.