Radiation exposure to the patient during closed intramedullary nailing [Strahlenexposition des patienten durch intraoperative bildgebung bei marknagelosteosynthesen]

Material and Method. 39 patients with pertrochanteric femur fracture (n=32) or lower leg fracture (n=7) were treated with closed intramedullary nailing. The related radiation exposure of the patients was calculated. Results. Osteosynthesis of pertrochanteric fractures took less fluoroscopic time than osteosynthesis of lower leg fractures. The effective dose was 14 mSv for nailing osteosynthesis of proximal pertrochanteric fractures and less than 0.1 mSv for osteosynthesis of distal lower leg fractures. Conclusion. Radiation exposure of the patient due to intraoperative fluoroscopic imaging during osteosynthesis can be estimated based on the data given above. Intraoperative observations imply, consequent application of radiation protection by the orthopaedic surgeons may reduce intraoperative radiation exposure even more.