[Pneumatic tourniquet as a repositioning aid in closed intramedullary nailing]

Abstract

The use of an extrawide pneumatic tourniquet as a reduction aid for closed intramedullary nailing is described, even in combination with the distractor. The principle is similar to that applied in fracture bracing as described by Sarmiento: the reduction of the fragments is achieved by ligamentotaxis (traction on the limb) combined with gentle concentric soft tissue compression exerted by the inflated tourniquet. We have applied the simple, non-invasive technique in over 30 fractures with good results. Implementation of the method with an unreamed tibia nail (utn) is described as an example.