| The goal of biological fixation is to achieve a balance between the mechanical stability of a joint or fracture repair and the biological preservation of the soft tissue surrounding the site of the repair. The following studies focused on several new techniques for the repair of joint instability as well as comminuted long bone fractures. In Chapter 1, the in vitro biomechanical response of pancarpal arthrodesis constructs using either a limited contact dynamic compression plate (LC-DCP), or a recently developed hybrid plate (HP) was investigated. This study demonstrated the mechanical advantages of the HPs over LC-DCPs, making them a viable alternative to LC-DCPs. In Chapter 2, a tibial gap fracture model featuring a synthetic bone substitute developed by our group was used to mechanically compare an investigational interlocking nail (ILN) system, featuring extended modified bolt-pins coupled to a type-IA external skeletal fixator (ILN-ESF), to standard bolted ILN (ILNb) constructs. Results showed that the substitution of locking bolts with extended bolts connected to an ESF significantly reduced construct compliance and overall deformation and eliminated the inherent slack of the ILNb. In Chapter 3, a novel nail (ILNn), engineered by our group, was investigated. This study demonstrated that the ILNn may represent a biomechanically more effective fixation method than standard ILNs for the treatment of comminuted diaphyseal fractures as well as a valid alternative to plate fixation. The results presented in this thesis demonstrate the mechanical and biological advantages of several new techniques for biological fixation. |
