The development of internal fixation: Historical overview

Since the ancient times, man was faced with the problem of fracture treatment, which is first described in the records from ancient Egypt. Ever since, many treatment methods have been developed, but the real revolution in the fracture treatment was achieved by internal fixation. Since it was described for the first time, at the end of the 18th century, this method has continuously developed, but sterilization, radiographies, anaesthesiology, antibiotics made this surgery modern and safe. The great ideas and practical solutions of the new methods were done by Albin Lambotte, William Arbuthnot Lane, Robert Danis, William Hey Groves. They lead to the expansion of this method and truly made the principles for the future AO school. New methods, biological internal fixation, minimally invasive procedures, new technologies and devices for internal fixation are introduced in the surgical practice daily.

Surgical approaches for minimally invasive plate osteosynthesis in dogs

SummaryFracture stabilisation techniques continue to evolve and to provide approaches which minimise the iatrogenic trauma associated with surgery. Minimally invasive plate osteo-synthesis (MIPO) is a recently described method of biological internal fixation performed by introducing a bone plate via small insertional incisions that are made remote to the fracture site. The plate is slid adjacent to the bone in an epiperiosteal tunnel connecting the two insertional incisions. Screws are placed in the plate through the insertional incisions or via additional stab incisions made over the holes in the plate. In this paper we describe the surgical approaches used to perform MIPO in humeral, radial, fe-moral and tibial fractures in dogs. We found that these approaches allowed safe insertion of the plate without grossly damaging neuro-vascular structures. Further studies are needed to evaluate the clinical outcome of MIPO in dogs.