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Original Article
Bone Transport Over the Intramedullary Nail for Defects of Long Bone
Jae-Young Roh, M.D., Chang-Wug Oh, M.D., Jong-Keon Oh, M.D., Hee-Soo Kyung, M.D., Byung-Chul Park, M.D., Woo-Kie Min, M.D., Joon-Woo Kim, M.D., Chang-Hyun Cho, M.D.
Journal of the Korean Fracture Society 2008;21(1):37-44.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.12671/jkfs.2008.21.1.37
Published online: January 31, 2008

Department of Orthopedic Surgery, National Medical Center, Seoul, Korea.

*Department of Orthopedic Surgery, School of Medicine, Korea University, Seoul, Korea.

Department of Orthopedic Surgery, School of Medicine, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, Korea.

Address reprint requests to: Chang-Wug Oh, M.D. Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, School of Medicine, Kyungpook National University, 101, Dongin-dong 2-ga, Jung-gu, Daegu 700-422, Korea. Tel: 82-053-420-5630, Fax: 82-053-422-6605, cwoh@knu.ac.kr

Copyright © 2008 The Korean Fracture Society. All rights reserved.

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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  • Purpose
    To evaluate the results of bone transport using external fixator over an intramedullary nail for defects of long bone.
  • Materials and Methods
    We treated 14 cases of bone defect after chronic osteomyelitis or trauma of tibia (12 cases) and femur (2 cases) using this method. The mean age of index procedure was 46.9 years, and all of them had follow-up study for a mean of 3 years. After the corticotomy and insertion of intramedullary nail, bone transport was done by external fixators. Then, the segment was moved and bone graft was done at docking site.
  • Results
    The mean transported amount was 5.8 cm, and the external fixator was removed after 141 days. The mean external fixation index was 25.6 days/cm. Primary union of distraction and docking site was achieved in all, but one had failure in union of docking site. According to the Mekhail's functional criteria, there were 5 excellent, 6 good, and 3 fair results. Among 15 complications, there were 2 major complications with residual sequelae, and they were 1 recurred osteomyelitis and 1 flexion contracture of knee.
  • Conclusion
    Bone transport using external fixator over an intramedullary nail, can successfully solve defects of long bone. Since this method can remove external fixators earlier than the conventional method, it has fewer complications and makes patients to return to daily life earlier.
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Fig. 1

(A) The patient had a large bone defect of 12 cm after the operation of tibial osteomyelitis.

(B, C) With the insertion of intramedullary nail, ilizarov ring fixator was fixed to transport the distal segment.
jkfs-21-37-g001.jpg
Fig. 2

(A) After the transport, bone graft was done on the docking site with plate fixation.

(B, C) At two years of follow-up, the tibia was well reconstructed without leg length discrepancy.
jkfs-21-37-g002.jpg
Fig. 3

(A) The patient showed a large tibial bone loss with the insertion of antibiotic cement-beads.

(B, C) Proximal corticotomy was done for transport by the methods of external fixator over the intramedullary nail.
jkfs-21-37-g003.jpg
Fig. 4

(A) Bone graft was done on the docking site.

(B) The distracted callus was good in consolidation at 3 month.
(C) At the final follow-up, the tibia was well reconstructed.
jkfs-21-37-g004.jpg
Fig. 5

After the traumatic bone loss of the proximal tibia (A), external fixation was done over the intramedullary nail. Note the posterior angulation of proximal tibia (B). Bone transport was done from the distal fragment (C), and bone graft was made on the docking site.

jkfs-21-37-g005.jpg
Fig. 6

The external fixator was removed at 2 month after bone graft (A). At two years of follow-up, the tibia was well reconstructed. Although the knee joint shows procurvatum with anterior angulation of proximal tibia (B, C), the patient had a good functional outcome.

jkfs-21-37-g006.jpg
Table 1

Clinical outcomes

jkfs-21-37-i001.jpg

LLD: Leg length discrepancy, ADL: Activity of daily living.

Table 2

Complications encountered, according to the Paley's classification

jkfs-21-37-i002.jpg

LOM: Limitation of motion.

Figure & Data

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    • Treatment for Bone Defect of Open Tibial Fractures by Using Intramedullary Nail Fixation with Autogenous Iliac Bone Graft
      Hyub Sakong, Ki Cheor Bae, Chul Hyun Cho, Kyung Jae Lee, Eun Seok Son, Du Han Kim
      Journal of the Korean Fracture Society.2012; 25(4): 288.     CrossRef

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      Bone Transport Over the Intramedullary Nail for Defects of Long Bone
      J Korean Fract Soc. 2008;21(1):37-44.   Published online January 31, 2008
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    Bone Transport Over the Intramedullary Nail for Defects of Long Bone
    Image Image Image Image Image Image
    Fig. 1 (A) The patient had a large bone defect of 12 cm after the operation of tibial osteomyelitis. (B, C) With the insertion of intramedullary nail, ilizarov ring fixator was fixed to transport the distal segment.
    Fig. 2 (A) After the transport, bone graft was done on the docking site with plate fixation. (B, C) At two years of follow-up, the tibia was well reconstructed without leg length discrepancy.
    Fig. 3 (A) The patient showed a large tibial bone loss with the insertion of antibiotic cement-beads. (B, C) Proximal corticotomy was done for transport by the methods of external fixator over the intramedullary nail.
    Fig. 4 (A) Bone graft was done on the docking site. (B) The distracted callus was good in consolidation at 3 month. (C) At the final follow-up, the tibia was well reconstructed.
    Fig. 5 After the traumatic bone loss of the proximal tibia (A), external fixation was done over the intramedullary nail. Note the posterior angulation of proximal tibia (B). Bone transport was done from the distal fragment (C), and bone graft was made on the docking site.
    Fig. 6 The external fixator was removed at 2 month after bone graft (A). At two years of follow-up, the tibia was well reconstructed. Although the knee joint shows procurvatum with anterior angulation of proximal tibia (B, C), the patient had a good functional outcome.
    Bone Transport Over the Intramedullary Nail for Defects of Long Bone

    Clinical outcomes

    LLD: Leg length discrepancy, ADL: Activity of daily living.

    Complications encountered, according to the Paley's classification

    LOM: Limitation of motion.

    Table 1 Clinical outcomes

    LLD: Leg length discrepancy, ADL: Activity of daily living.

    Table 2 Complications encountered, according to the Paley's classification

    LOM: Limitation of motion.


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