Mechanical Evaluation of Half‐Pin (Type 1) External Skeletal Fixation in Combination with a Single Intramedullary Pin

Abstract

Half-pin (type 1) external skeletal fixators with four, three, and two fixation pins and an intramedullary pin, and four-pin external skeletal fixators without an intramedullary pin were applied to prepared canine femurs. Load to failure, load to yield, safe load, and stiffness under compressive and torsional loads were calculated. When tested in compression, all measurements for the four-pin fixators with an intramedullary pin were significantly higher than for the two-pin fixators with an intramedullary pin. The values for all parameters except load to yield were significantly higher for the four-pin fixators with an intramedullary pin than for the four-pin fixators without an intramedullary pin. When tested in torsion, all measurements for the four-pin fixators with an intramedullary pin were significantly higher than for the two or three-pin fixators with an intramedullary pin.