[Indications for interlocking nailing].

For closed diaphyseal fractures of femur and tibia in adults, medullary nailing with interlocking nails has become the treatment of choice. Their use has been extended to certain intraarticular fractures in combination with shaft fractures, compound fractures with low-grade wound contamination, malunion, non-union and pathologic fractures. Locked nailing should be performed as a closed procedure, and callus bone healing should be expected. Fracture hematoma, drill debris and preservation of periosteal circulation are of particular relevance in achieving this. Dynamization by removal of the locking screw(s) opposite the fracture site accelerates the transformation and ossification of early fixation callus.