Ortho Preferred Malpractice Insurance
Home » Orthopaedics » Ilizarov Method: Pinsites for Signs of Inflammation/Infection

Ilizarov Method: Pinsites for Signs of Inflammation/Infection

Dr. Mangal Parihar 

- Discussion:
Pinsites should be cleaned with sterile saline (boiled & cooled water would do as well) and cotton swabs on a daily basis. Use of antiseptic lotions to cover the pinsites is favored by many surgeons, but is not necessary. In fact the only area where any gauze dressings are required is for Schanz pins in the upper thigh, where bulky dressings are used to reduce the motion between the pin-skin interface. The patient is given instructions to increase the frequency of pi-site cleaning if there is any increased discharge. If there is any redness and pain around a pin-site associated with increased or purulent discharge the patient can start a course of antibiotics. Utilizing these guidelines, most centers report very few instances of serious pin-site complications. Another frequent worry for the patient as well as the surgeon is that of bathing and washing the fixator. This is completely safe, provided that the limb and the fixator is thoroughly dried and the pinsites cleaned again after the bathing.
 
- Ilizarov Post Op Care 
- Menu:
 

 - The Early Post-op period (the Latent Phase) 
- Pain relief  
- Limb Positioning 
- The Distraction Phase 
- Neurological Examination 
- Pinsites for Signs of Inflammation / Infection 
- Stability of Frame & Components 
- Ambulation
  Follow-up Checklist (X-rays) 
- Quality of regenerate 
- Physiotherapy 
- The Consolidation Phase 
- Removal of the Fixator and Post Fixator Removal