Fracture fixation with biodegradable rods Forty-one cases of severe ankle fractures

Foreign-body reactions to polyglycolide screws

“…Thus, the abacterial, inflammatory tissue response is a complication unique to the absorbable polyester implants, whereas the incidences of bacterial wound infections and failures of fixation seemed to be of the same magnitude as those recorded with metallic devices (Lindsjo 1985, Mak et al 1985. The frequency of the clinically manifest inflammatory reactions in this study, 11 percent, was higher than has previously been reported with absorbable implants in ankle fractures (Rokkanen et al 1985, Hirvensalo 1989, Bostman et al 1990, Poigenfiirst et al 1990). However, in the present study also reactions that could be cured exclusively by a needle aspiration were included.…”

“…These inflammatory lesions have occurred with implants made of pure polyglycolide or polylactide, as well as with those made of glycolide-lactide copolymer (Bostman et al 1989, Hirvensalo 1989, Bostman 1991. The reported incidence has varied from 3 percent in chevron osteotomies of the first metatarsal bone to 22 percent in the distal radius (Hoffmann et al 1989).…”

Delayed Foreign-body Reaction to Absorbable Implants in Metacarpal Fracture Treatment

“…Adverse tissue reactions occurred in 22.5% to 40% of wrist fractures compared with 4% to 14.6% of ankle fractures treated with the same polyglycolic acid implant [8,14,17,18], 25% of scaphoid fractures [6], and only 1.8% of elbow fractures [6]. We previously used bioabsorbable pins to treat radial head fractures and did not observe any foreign-body reactions [16].…”

Polymeric debris from absorbable polyglycolide screws and pins

“…The general biodegradability of pieces made of polyglycolide and other absorbable polyesters of alphahydroxy carboxylic acids in bone has been demonstrated in several studies (Christel et al 1982, Hollinger and Battistone 1986, Vainionpa et al 1986), but little has been published on the details of the degradation and absorption of these polymers within bone tissue. A better knowledge of these processes is important as several of the clinical series published on the use of polyglycolide implants in fracture fixation have been burdened with the occurrence of late spontaneous sinuses yielding remnants of the degrading implant, the incidence of this complication being on average 8 percent (Bostman et al 1987, Hirvensalo 1989, Hoffmann et al 1989, Poigenfiirst et al 1990, Bostman 1991a, Rokkanen 1991. 1992).…”