Improving Equine Intramedullary Nail Osteosynthesis via Fracture Adjacent Polymer Reinforcement

Abstract: Introduction: Osteosynthesis of the equine femur is still a challenge for veterinary medicine. Even though intramedullary fracture fixation is possible nowadays, the varying geometry of the medullary cavity along the bone axis is a critical factor. Limited contact area between implant and bone can cause insufficient primary stability. In this study, it was investigated whether the osteosynthesis stability can be improved with a form-adaptive reinforcement for the diaphyseal part of the proximal fragment. Material and Methods: Eight equine femora were fitted with intramedullary nail osteosynthesis and analyzed by 4-point bending. Virtual position planning of the ex-vivo implantation using CT-data increased comparability. For five femora the proximal fragment was reinforced with a flexible polymer mixture. Longterm stability was tested via cyclic loading. Bending stiffness and its development due to cyclic loading was evaluated before and after reinforcement procedure. Finally, load-to-failure was tested in the same setup. Results and Discussion: The application of the polymer reinforcement increased the maximum torque in the load-tofailure measurement by 26%. Bending stiffness was not affected in the measured loading range by the reinforcement. Cyclic loading increased bending stiffness for a conditioned state but showed to be reversible for the most part. Conclusion: The fracture adjacent reinforcement showed to be beneficial to the osteosynthesis stability, but further investigation is necessary for surgical application.

Object Details

• Location: Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Frankfurt am Main
• Extent: Online-Ressource
• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Improving Equine Intramedullary Nail Osteosynthesis via Fracture Adjacent Polymer Reinforcement ; volume:8 ; number:2 ; year:2022 ; pages:129-132 ; extent:4 ; Current directions in biomedical engineering ; 8, Heft 2 (2022), 129-132 (gesamt 4)

Contributors, Places and Time

• Creator: Lang, Jan J. ; Baylacher, Veronika ; Micheler, Carina M. ; Wilhelm, Nikolas J. ; Hinterwimmer, Florian ; Schwaiger, Benedikt ; Barnewitz, Dirk ; Eisenhart-Rothe, Rüdiger von ; Grosse, Christian U. ; Burgkart, Rainer

Further information

• DOI: 10.1515/cdbme-2022-1034
• URN: urn:nbn:de:101:1-2022090315382736965888
• Rights: Open Access; Der Zugriff auf das Objekt ist unbeschränkt möglich.
• Last update: 15.08.2025, 7:29 AM CEST