Effects of fixation stiffness on fracture healing. External fixation of tibial osteotomy in the rabbit.

In rabbit tibial osteotomies, the effects on bone healing of three different degrees of stiffness of external fixation were investigated. Redislocation occurred in one third of the osteotomies with the least rigid fixation, and the amount of external callus was greater in this group. At 6 weeks there were no significant differences between the groups regarding bending strength and stiffness of the bones.