Intramedullary nailing of tibial shaft fractures

Sixty-four displaced tibial shaft fractures were treated using intramedullary nailing, either primarily or after an attempt at conservative treatment, which consisted of closed reduction under anaesthesia and immobilisation in a long-leg plaster cast. There were 37 closed and 27 open fractures. Three patients had a fracture of both tibiae. The median time period from the intramedullary nailing of the closed solitary fractures to union was about the same after primary nailing as after delayed nailing. Although the fractures were different in these groups, it is possible that the time spent in conservative treatment before intramedullary nailing brings no additional benefits. The incidence of deep infection in open fractures after primary nailing was 1/16. The fractures, in which an acceptable position could not be maintained using conservative methods, were mainly spiral in configuration and located in the distal third or at the junction of the middle and distal thirds of the tibia.