Taylor Kenneth F, Rafiee Bahman, Inoue Nozumu, McHale Kathleen A, Howard Robin S, Chao Edmund Y S
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Rehabilitation, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, 6900 Georgia Avenue, Washington DC, USA.
Clin Orthop Relat Res. 2005 Jun(435):239-44. doi: 10.1097/01.blo.0000157903.85014.ab.
Distraction osteogenesis is a powerful tool for addressing segmental defects and limb-length discrepancies. Guidelines for the rate and rhythm of distraction have been described. The possibilities of early consolidation or nonunion threaten clinical success. A quantifiable method for monitoring the distraction gap would be useful. Previous methods to measure regenerate callus stiffness have not gained widespread clinical acceptance, largely because of cumbersome instrumentation. A rabbit tibial lengthening model was used to show the clinical utility of a digital torque wrench in monitoring axial stiffness of the regenerate bone callus during distraction osteogenesis. We confirmed the linear increase in peak torsional stiffness with time, which has been reported by others. This relationship may prove to be a useful clinical adjunct in guiding the rate and rhythm of distraction during limb lengthening.
