ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:Positioning of the distal locking screws of a tibial intramedulary nail is often chalenging and time consuming. The traditional free-hand technique under fluoroscopic control involves considerable radiation exposure.OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the results of a new electromagnetic navigation system (TRIGEN-SURESHOT navigation system) for distal locking of tibial intramedullary nail in tibial diaphyseal fracture and to compare the effects with the free-hand method.METHODS: Forty-five cases of tibial diaphyseal fracture in the Second Hospital of Anhui Medical University from May 2014 to August 2015 were analyzed retrospectively, and were divided into two groups. Patients in navigation group (n=23) were treated with intramedullary nail using the TRIGEN-SURESHOT navigation system for distal locking, and the remainings in free-hand group (n=22) were given the free-hand method.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: All cases were followed up for 17-32 months. The one-time success rate of distal locking nail operation was 100％ in the navigation group, which was significantly higher than that in the free-hand group (P 0.05). To conclude, the effect of the TRIGEN-SURESHOT navigation system for distal locking of tibial intramedullary nail is satisfactory, exhibiting the advantages of short operation time, high success rate, and no radiation.