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Internal Skeletal Fixation
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| Internal skeletal fixation (ISF) is one type of orthopedics in which we use various pins, plates, screws, and wire combinations to align and stabilize fractures bones. All implants are surgical grade stainless steel. Implant placement is done surgically, involving cutting the skin and moving muscles, nerves, and vessels to the side, to allow proper placement of the implants. Some implants such as the plates and screws are usually left in, while others, such as pins, are often removed after the fracture heals..
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This little guy had a complete fracture of both the tibia and fibula bones in the back leg. We aligned the fracture
ends, then used a 6-hole stainless steel plate and 6 bone screws to stabilize the fracture. |
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This young puppy had a Salter type 2 fracture of the elbow (2 fractures, one in the joint and the other higher up). We fixed this fracture with a compression screw to allow rapid healing in the joint with minimal arthritis, and a pin to fix the upper fracture and prevent rotation. This pup was walking well in less than 4 weeks. |
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External Skeletal Fixation |
| External skeletal fixation (ESF) is one type of orthopedics in which we use various pins, clamps, and bars; and leave most of them outside the skin. ESF allows us to fix many fractures that we could not fix properly with internal devices. In addition, many times we do not have to surgically expose the fracture and manipulate the edges, thus healing is easier and faster. |
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This little guy had a complete fracture of both the radius and the ulna bones. The extremely small diameter
of these bones prevented using pins or screws and plates. External fixation worked great! |
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| This fracture was comminuted (broken in many pieces), and about 1 week old.
Because the healing had begun, we decided to use external fixation so that we did not have to interrupt the healing boney callous. The
pins running through the bones, fastened by clamps to the bars, make the fixation very solid, allowing for good bone healing!
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