external fixator

A form of bone fixation increasingly used in the management of fractures. A strong steel bar, of circular or square cross-section, lying parallel to the fractured long bone, and securely fixed to it by a number of steel pins passed in through the skin and screwed into the bone above and below the fracture site. The pins are attached to the bar by adjustable brackets.

Collins Dictionary of Medicine © Robert M. Youngson 2004, 2005

Mentioned in

arthrodesis
external fixation
fixation
fixator
Ilizarov technique
leg lengthening

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