Definition

• Intramedullary nailing is standard treatment for a shattered tibia, also known as a shin bone. Intramedullary nailing places a splint inside the fractured bone to allow for weight bearing while the bone is healing.
  
  

History

• Intramedullary nailing was first used to treat fractured femurs (thigh bones) until the 1930s, when a German pioneer named Gerhard Kuntscher began to experiment with different shaped nails to support tibial fractures. The experimental surgery was necessitated by World War II injuries.
  
  

Pain Treatment by Nail Removal

• Broken tibial bones densify or produce enough bone to be considered healed in an average of 17 months. After that time, nails are usually removed. In a study published by A.H. Kharladani, et al., fewer than 30 percent of patients who had nails removed for pain treatment experienced any relief.