Historical development of intramedullary nailing of long bone fractures
Abstract
Intramedullary nailing has a long and interesting history which dates back to the 16th century. Since then, this technique has gone through a significant progress which led to the common use of its modern form today. The design of nails, screws and materials they are made of has been revaluated and improved constantly. Advances in methods and materials have clearly gone hand in hand with the progress of anesthesiology, asepsis and antimicrobial therapy. Although intramedullary nailing has become standard, when it comes to the most diaphyseal lower extremity fractures, the very begining of the method wasn't met with approval. In the first half
of the 20th century, a German surgeon Gerhard Küntcher introduced the modern form of intramedullary osteosynthesis, which significantly diminished the frequency of complications and led to the widespread use of nailing in the treatment of long bone fractures. This paper brings the historical overview of intramedullary nailing progress and its application to the long bone fracture treatment.
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