"K-wires used to be only inserted with open pre-drilling (in the 1920s), but the infection rate prompted the development of a percutaneous approach (now with a pistol-grip wire driver). Pin-tract infections (PTI) are much less common than they used to be."
"The original Steinmann nail was introduced by the Swiss surgeon, Dr Fritz Steinmann (1872-1932) 3 in 1907. Although four years earlier, in 1903 an Italian surgeon, Dr Alessandro Codivilla (1861-1912) described a similar method for repairing foot deformities with a bone nail and skeletal traction. Thus its alternative name, the Steinmann-Codivilla pin 3,4. The original Kirschner wire was introduced in 1909 by the German surgeon, Dr Martin Kirschner (1879-1942) 2. Both wires/pins were at first used for traction and only began to be used for fixation in the 1930s."
"for fixation in patients with poor bone quality (lag screws may not have much purchase)"
"Steinmann pins (or intramedullary pins), a slightly earlier invention, are a similar type of fixation wire/pin. In early orthopaedics, the terms for both wires were sometimes used synonymously. Today, a Steinmann pin usually refers to a wire thicker than the K-wire:"
"Steinmann pins (or intramedullary pins), a slightly earlier invention, are a similar type of fixation wire/pin. In early orthopaedics, the terms for both wires were sometimes used synonymously. Today, a Steinmann pin usually refers to a wire thicker than the K-wire:"
"thin wires are especially useful for smaller bones (e.g. hands, paediatrics)"