1: J Bone Joint Surg Am  1985 Apr;67(4):598-605 External skeletal fixation of canine tibial osteotomies. Compression comparedwith no compression.Hart MB, Wu JJ, Chao EY, Kelly PJ.In this study we compared the effects of compression on the maturity and patternof osseous healing in canine tibial osteotomies that were fixed with an externalfixation system at a single time-period, ninety days after osteotomy. The invitro model demonstrated that compression increased rigidity of fixation.Relative to the rigidity of the intact tibia, this increase was small.Estimation of osteotomy-site bone blood flow at ninety days by 85Sr clearanceand torsional testing to failure of the healed osteotomies were used to comparethe maturity of bone union in each group. The pattern of healing of theosteotomy was evaluated by quantitative histological determination of new-boneformation and porosity. All of the osteotomies healed by the ninetieth day. Wefound no significant difference at that time in osteotomy-site bone blood flowor strength of healing of the osteotomy, although the compression-treatedosteotomies healed with higher torsional stiffness. No differences weredemonstrated between the two groups in the pattern of healing of the osteotomy.In both groups there was a significantly greater amount of periosteal new-boneformation in the relatively less rigidly fixed antero-posterior plane whencompared with the mediolateral plane. Primary bone-healing of both the contacttype and the gap type was seen in both groups. There were no significantcomplications and the pin-loosening rate was similar in both groups.PMID: 3980506 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]