Electrical treatment of non-united fractures

The semi-invasive technique for electrical stimulation of bone healing developed by Brighton et al. (1977) was used in 23 patients with nonunited fractures of the tibia (14 cases), humerus (4 cases), scaphoid, femur and fibula as well as one failed arthrodesis of the ankle. The fractures were clinically not healed and not operated on within a minimum of 6 months. The mean period from fracture to treatment was 18 months. Electrical stimulation led to solid bone healing in 10 cases. Two deep infections occurred during the treatment. Of 13 cases that did not unite, a great range of motion in the nonunion area was an obvious cause of failure in seven cases. The results in this series cannot compete with those of bone graft surgery for nonunions.