Comparison Between the Effect of Expandable Intramedullary Nail and Interlocking Intramedullary Nail Fixation in the Treatment of the Tibial Shaft Fractures

[Objective] To comparatively analyze the effect of expandable intramedullary nail and interlocking intramedullary nail fixation in the treatment of the tibial shaft fractures.[Methods]Totally 40 cases of the tibial shaft fractures underwent surgical treatment with different fixation including expandable intramedullary nails in 19 cases and interlocking intramedullary nails in 21 cases.The operative difficulties,outcomes and complications were analyzed and compared retrospectively.[Results]The operation with expandable intramedullary nails was much easier than interlocking intramedullary nails.According to average 18 months postoperative follow-up,the average duration of bone union was 14 weeks and the complication rate was 0 in the cases fixed with expandable intramedullary nails,19 weeks and 38.1% in the cases fixed with interlocking intramedullary nails respectively.[Conclusion]The application of expandable intramedullary nails in the treatment of tibial shaft fractures has advantages of less trauma,more simple operation,and less complications.It's a new method of the treatment of the tibial shaft fractures better than interlocking intramedullary nails,and It's worthy of recommending.