The XS nail which is introduced here fulfils the requirements made of an implant as regards maximum protection of soft tissue, secure fracture fixation and early exercise tolerance, including ankle fractures. No implant dislocation, no deep infection and no re-osteosynthesis were observed. Its advantages over conventional techniques lie precisely in the treatment of complex fractures and for patients with poor bone, vascular and soft-tissue situations.

Introduction: Due to the increase in the incidence of osteoporosis with age and the high biochemical load on the proximal femur, the pertrochanteric femur fracture is the typical fracture of the elderly. The number of different fracture types and the characteristic features of this patient population places high demands on any universally applicable implant. The rotational instability of the head-neck fragment in the case of a trochanter minor defect, in particular, is a significant factor in the care of pertrochanteric femur factures. The object of this study was to show that the gliding nail constitutes a universal implant for the care of proximal femur fractures with constantly maintained stability under load. Material and Methods: Between March 1996 and April 2001, 501 patients with per-and subtrochanteric fractures and an average age of 76 were included in the study. All osteosyntheses were carried out using the gliding nail which has an I-beam cross-section profile blade. 73.2% were treated operatively for closed isolated per-or subtrochanteric femur fractures. Results: All patients were restored to full weight-bearing postoperatively. The combined overall early and late complication rate following gliding nail synthesis was only 5.4%. Neither blade cut-out nor head-neck rotation was observed following gliding nail osteosynthesis. Three-month mortality rose from 2.4% in patients with no complications to 90% in patients with four complications. 92.1% of patients were independently mobile at the time of the follow-up examination. Conclusion: With its low complication rate and the ever-present possibility of full weight bearing, the gliding nail fulfills all the requirements of a modern implant for the treatment of proximal femur fractures. In our opinion, its most advantageous features are the high moment of resistance of the I-beam cross-section profile blade which ensures the possibility of gliding, the minimalized risk of proximal cut-out due to the large surface area with two planes of support in the bone, and its secure rotational stability in terms of both nail and bone. The impaction of the blade, which requires no reaming with its resulting loss of bone substance, is responsible for the excellent bone-implant interface.

In the period from 05/2000 to 01/2002, 194 ankle fractures were treated with the IP-XS-Nail((R)). Follow-up examinations were conducted on 162 patients with an average age of 51.2 years after an average of 15 months. 62 Weber B fractures (38.3%) and 45 Weber C fractures (27.7%) were evaluated. There were bimalleolar fractures in 55 cases (34.0%). According to the Olerud Score (clinical and radiologic score), 95 patients (58.6%) had an excellent, 54 (33.3%) a good, nine (5.5%) a moderate, and four (2.4%) an unsatisfactory result.

The posterior luxation of the shoulder joint is a rarely reported and often not recognized lesion in the clinical workday. The authors present the first case of a posterior luxation of the shoulder joint in combination with an contralateral anterior shoulder joint fracture dislocation. In that case the authors stress the importance of an exact clinical and radiology diagnostic and the right way to reduce a posterior luxation of the shoulder joint. Finally they draw the readers attention to operative steps to prevent a reluxation of the shoulder joint.

The eccentric ventral AO tension belt system represents the standard therapy of fractures of the patella. This often leads to unsatisfying results. Relating to Klute and Meenen [10] and the results of our own retrospective study, expressed as a percentage, 5-34% (own results 12.4%) have extremely poor treatment outcome, 23-60% (39%) end in deficiencies of bending, and there are 51-79.5% (65.7%) with subjective complaints after patella osteosynthesis. The disadvantages due to the eccentric tension belt position and the impossibility of applying the tension belt directly to the bone surface are abolished with the development of the XS nail. Due to its central position, constant compression of the entire fracture surface is provided. This is valid for all tension-stressed fractures such as those of the patella and olecranon. In synthetic patellae [5] standardized stress testing with changing tension up to 500 Newton was carried out. The XS nail was compared with the AO tension belt osteosynthesis after osteotomy and osteosynthesis in synthetic patellae. The XS nail was superior to the tension belt for all tests and therefore can be applied to all types of fractures where tension stress exists. We repaired the first 15 patella fractures with the XS nail. In 13 of 15 cases, full load of the injured leg was possible (for stairs a plaster splint was used). The experimental patella tests and first clinical results with the XS nail osteosynthesis after patella fracture confirm the new type of osteosynthesis, and functional treatment with loading seems possible.