What is a tibial shaft?
What is a tibial shaft?
What is a tibial shaft?
Your tibia is the big bone between your knee and ankle. The shaft is the middle of that bone. Tibial shaft fractures are often, but not always, associated with fractures of the fibula. Your lower leg is surrounded by groups of muscles that are in separate spaces, or compartments.
How is a tibial nail inserted?
The tip of the nail should be placed in the center of the distal tibia, approximately at the level of the physeal scar (denser bone). Distal placement of the nail is particularly important for fractures below the medullary isthmus.
How is an intramedullary nail inserted?
Your surgeon will thread a guidewire into the center of the bone. He may need to use a device to make the bone hollow. He will then line up the broken ends of the bone. The nail is then inserted into the hollow part of bone to keep the bones lined up.
What is an intramedullary nail used for?
An intramedullary nail is a metal rod that is inserted into the medullary cavity of a bone and across the fracture in order to provide a solid support for the fractured bone. Intramedullary nailing is currently considered the “gold standard” for treatment of femoral shaft fractures (Rudloff 2009).
How do you tell if your tibia is fractured?
Symptoms
- Inability to walk or bear weight on the leg.
- Deformity or instability of the leg.
- Bone “tenting” over the skin at the fracture site or bone protruding through a break in the skin.
- Occasional loss of feeling in the foot.
What is intramedullary nailing of the tibia?
Intramedullary nailing is the most popular and widely used method for treating tibial shaft fractures. Intramedullary nailing involves minimal surgical dissection, allowing preservation of blood supply by not disrupting the soft tissue around the fracture.
Should intramedullary nails be removed?
Intramedullary nailing is the treatment of choice for fractures of the tibial shaft, which might necessitate the nail removal due to complications in the long-term. Although considered as a low-risk procedure, intramedullary nail removal is also associated with certain complications.
What is intramedullary nail tibia?
How long is recovery from tibia surgery?
What is the recovery process for a tibia fracture? Recovery time for a tibia fracture typically takes 4-6 months to heal completely. If the fracture is open or comminuted, healing time may take longer. Your doctor will often prescribe medications for pain-relief for a short period of time after the injury or surgery.
Can you walk on a broken tibia?
Can you still walk with a fractured tibia? In most cases, the answer is no. Walking after a tibia fracture can make your injury worse and may cause further damage to the surrounding muscles, ligaments and skin. Walking on a fractured tibia is also likely to be extremely painful.