[Experimental studies of the biomechanical properties of hollow nails and solid nails for interlocking intramedullary...

Since locked intramedullary nailing of the tibia in dogs was followed by material failure of the conventional slotted hollow nails within days, special solid nails were developed and tested with respect to their mechanical properties. There was a clear advantage of the solid nails over the hollow nails in terms of bending resistance and yield force. In animal experiments--even in long-term experiments over nine months--no case of material failure occurred with the solid nails. The high torsional and bending resistance of the solid nails suggests the use of a mechanical device which, as our experience shows, permits reliable interlocking without the need for an image intensifier, that is to say, without radiation exposure.