A newbie looking for a good place to get pointers.

Hi i'm new in this forum.. anyway i can get tech tips, discuss ortho surgeries?

For example, i'll be doing a supracondylar nail from synthes tommorow.. Its a new system for me... any tips?

Anywhere we can discuss xrays and cases?

The only tip I have is to make sure you tie a suture around the proximal interlock screw so you don't lose it in the soft tissue when you're putting it in. Of course, you need to always ask yourself: Is it worth it to go through the knee? Can this case be done with an antegrade nail, etc....?

Or you could just use the Trigen Knee Nail with the capture device built into the screwdriver (so you never lose a screw in soft tissue!). Personally, I don't think that there is an easier system to use than the Trigen for IM nails.

and i thought i was the only oe who tied the absorbable suture around the endcap and screws. I usually only do it in obese patients though.

This is a supracondylar fracture with a long butterfly fragment.. we could have done a long condylar butress plate but the incision would be enormous. A MIPO surgery would have been good, but we lack expertise and also the implant. Large incisions also usually result in poor rehabilitation. We decided doe a patella splitting incision with a mathys solid retrograde nail. Long nail, we did ap locking at the level of lesser trochanter.

I had previously done a short cannulated zimmer nail, but the jig was extremely maleable, leading to difficul guided locking.. It iwas really difficult to freehand lock, and now i have all but given up on the zimmer retrigrade shortnail system

Anyway,, someone else stole the operation.. i was on call and someone else did the case instead as it was an elective case.

I did get to do another interesting case though, which i will start another topic