Ilizarov apparatus

Ilizarov apparatus
An Ilizarov apparatus treatment for the fractured tibia and fibula bones of the right leg.
ICD-9-CM78.3, 84.53
MeSHD018889

In medicine, the Ilizarov apparatus is a type of external fixation apparatus used in orthopedic surgery to lengthen or to reshape the damaged bones of an arm or a leg; used as a limb-sparing technique for treating complex fractures and open bone fractures; and used to treat an infected non-union of bones, which cannot be surgically resolved. The Ilizarov apparatus corrects angular deformity in a leg, corrects differences in the lengths of the legs of the patient, and resolves osteopathic non-unions;[1] further developments of the Ilizarov apparatus progressed to the development of the Taylor Spatial Frame.

Gavriil Abramovich Ilizarov developed the Ilizarov apparatus as a limb-sparing surgical remedy for the treatment of the osteopathic non-unions of patients with unhealed broken limbs.[1] Consequent to a patient lengthening, rather than shortening, the adjustable-rod frame of his external-fixation apparatus, Ilizarov observed the formation of a fibrocartilage callus at and around the site of the bone fracture, and so discovered the phenomenon of distraction osteogenesis, the regeneration of bone and soft tissues that culminates in the creation of new bone.[1]

In 1987, the Ilizarov apparatus and Ilizarov's surgical techniques for repairing the broken bones of damaged limbs were introduced to U.S. medicine.[2] The mechanical functions of the Ilizarov apparatus derive from the mechanics of the shaft bow harness for a horse.[3]

  1. ^ a b c Spiegelberg B, Parratt T, Dheerendra SK, Khan WS, Jennings R, Marsh DR (2010). "Ilizarov Principles of Deformity Correction". Annals of the Royal College of Surgeons of England. 92 (2): 101–5. doi:10.1308/003588410X12518836439326. PMC 3025247. PMID 20353638.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference SIlizarovp15 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Svetlana Ilizarov (2006). "The Ilizarov Method: History and Scope". In S. Robert Rozbruch; Svetlana Ilizarov (eds.). Limb Lengthening and Reconstruction Surgery. CRC Press. pp. 3–6. ISBN 0-8493-4051-9.