Some effects of rigidity of internal fixation on the healing pattern of osteotomies

Studies have been carried out to examine the influence of different degrees of rigidity on the healing pattern of bones that have been internally fixed after osteotomy. The study confirms that the less the rigidity afforded by the internal fixation device, the more callus is produced. There is evidence that a certain amount of rigidity in the fixation used is necessary to prevent early bone resorption at the fragment ends. The work demonstrates the early phenomena induced by too elastic a fixation. It was not intended to study the late effects of excess rigidity on bone structure.