Removal of the retained fragment of broken solid nails by the intra-medullary route

The development of solid nails has not eliminated the risk of occasional nail failure. It has been suggested that subsequent intra-medullary removal of solid nail fragment may be virtually impossible and thus major surgery is required for their revision. We report two cases of hardware failure of a solid intra-medullary nail (Synthes solid femoral and tibial nail) and describe their successful intra-medullary removal using the Synthes extraction kit. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.