crossed cortical screws for arthrodesis of the equine proximal interphalangeal joint

The maintenance of rigid stability and compression of the pastern joint, similar to fracture repair, is required for successful pastern arthrodesis. Many techniques and variations on each technique have been studied biomechanically in vitro and confirm that some fixations provide more stability than others. In our study, the strength of a modified method of arthrodesis of the proximal interphalangeal joint using one axial and two abaxial screws was compared with a standard parallel arthrodesis technique by mechanically loading arthrodesis constructs on paired cadaveric limbs. These cadaveric limbs underwent mechanical destruction in a bend in a palmar (plantar)-to-dorsal direction. The assessment of the strength of arthrodesis constructs was based on the evaluation of the maximum loading force and the comparison of radiographs performed before and after loading. The measurements show that in 6 cases out of 7, the strength of the modified (crossed) arthrodesis method was higher compared to the parallel method.