What is a Kirschner wire used for?
What is a Kirschner wire used for?
Kirschner wires (K-wires) are stiff, straight wires that are sometimes needed to repair a fracture (broken bone). K-wires are also commonly called ‘pins’. If your child has a fracture that requires surgery, they may need K-wires to help hold the bones in place until they heal.
What is surgical wire made of?
Kirschner wires or K-wires or pins are sterilized, sharpened, smooth stainless steel pins. Introduced in 1909 by Martin Kirschner, the wires are now widely used in orthopedics and other types of medical and veterinary surgery.
Is a K wire an implant?
K-wires and Steinmann pins are used to provide internal fixation for fractures or osteotomies. In some instances, removal of the implant is planned and the implant is left long to facilitate its removal. In other instances, implant removal is not planned and the implant is cut off at the level of the bone.
Do K-wires leave a scar?
When a finger is treated with closed reduction and K-wire fixation, the main advantage isthat there is no scarring from surgical dissection.
How long does AK wire stay in?
The K wires are generally left in place for an average of 2 to 3 weeks. When the fracture is not tender to firm palpation between a thumb and index finger, the K wires can usually be removed; this is a clinically healed fracture.
Can K-wires be left in?
K-wires can be buried and left in situ until union or they can be left unburied and require removal after four weeks, with plaster immobilisation until union. There is no consensus as to whether wire burial is preferable or not.
How long can K wires be left in?
How do you wire a cerclage?
The cerclage wire is placed around the bone using a wire passer. Avoid any soft-tissue entrapment between the bone and the wire. Twist knot, single loop or double loop cerclage wire can be used. Double loop knots have the greatest knot tightness followed by single loop and then twist knot.
K Wire (Kirschner Wire) Specification, Uses, Sizes and Surgical Techniques. Kirschner wires or K wires are metallic wire (stainless steel) sharpened one or both side, are used to hold bone fragments together (pin fixation) or to provide an anchor for skeletal traction.
What size K-wire do you use for a child?
In children younger than 5–6 years, 1.6 mm K Wires (Kirschner Wires) are used for fractures around the shoulder, elbow, knee, and ankle joints. In children above this age, 2.0 mm K Wires (Kirschner Wires) are usually used. It is important to consider the weight of the patient when choosing the diameter of the K-wire.
What is a Kirschner bone pin?
Kirschner or K Wires Are Surgical Bone Pins. K-wires are often used to stabilize a broken bone and then removed in the office once the fracture has healed. The wires can also be threaded to help prevent movement or backing out of the wire, although that can also make them more difficult to remove.
What K-wires are used for metaphyseal fractures?
Metaphyseal fractures of the long bones require at least 1.6 mm K-wires (Kirschner Wires). If only two wires are used, larger diameter wires may be necessary.
