Recommendation of use of checklists in tibial intramedullary nail removal: Retrospective study of mechanical complications related to nail removal.

BACKGROUND: The removal of implants such as intramedullary nails is one of the most common operations in orthopedic surgery. The indications for orthopedic implants removal will always remain a subject of conversation and hardly supported by literature. The aim of this study to report injuries of treatment in tibial nail removal and to determine if there are fracture characteristics, patient demographics, or surgical details that may predict a complication. METHODS: This is a retrospective seven-year (2010-2016) study including a total of 389 tibial intramedullary nail removals at the Helsinki University Hospital's orthopedic unit. Patients with tibial fracture and removal of intramedullary nail were identified from the hospital discharge register and analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 21 (5,4%) nail removal related mechanical complications (iatrogenic fractures, nerve injuries, failures to remove the nail) were noted. The most common complication was iatrogenic fracture (n = 15, 3,8%). In 6/15 cases the fracture was caused by broken interlocking screws, In 5/15 cases the iatrogenic fracture was caused accidentally by extracting the nail without prior removal of all distal interlocking screws. In one case, new condensed bone had formed around the nail's distal end and case the forced nail extraction caused a re-fracture in both tibia and fibula. CONCLUSION: Nail removal can be a challenging operation which does not always receive the necessary preoperative planning or operative expertise. Iatrogenic fractures were most often caused by inadequate preoperative planning or assuming that a broken interlocking screw tilts during the extraction. We suggest the use of checklists in preoperative planning to avoid fractures caused by broken or undetected interlocking screws.