Limb Lengthening Pin site care (Prevention of Infection)

One of the most frequent complications described in the scientific periodicals about the method of thrasosseous osteosynthesis is the infection of soft tissues around wires and pins. This complication can lead to an additional surgery (reinsertion of wires), can increase the duration of treatment, and be a cause of increased scar tissues around the pins. In most of the cases of an external fixator only, we can consider it as an obstacle, not a problem,because it doesn’t affect the final result. In case of LON method infection is much more dangerous and can cause pretty dramatic complication.

There are two principal approaches to pin site care: covering the pin site with a gauze bandage, and keeping the pin site open to prevent infection with antibiotics. Even though the first approach is more laborious and costly, we give it our preference, especially in LON. According to our protocol, we perform a re-dressing of the external frame after each shower/bathing procedure. This makes our infection complication rate very low. Please see our video about pin site care.