Acute Invaginating Docking for Infected Nonunions of the Humerus

Purpose.To assess the efficacy of acute invaginating docking for infected non-unions of the humerus. Methods. Eight men and 3 women aged 17 to 59 years with infected non-unions of the humerus underwent acute invaginating docking with shortening and Ilizarov fixation.Results.The mean shortening was 2.9 cm owing to additional debridement. The mean time to external fixator removal was 14.9 (range, 8–28) weeks. The final bone result was excellent in 1, good in 8, and fair in 2. The functional result was excellent in 7 and good in 4.Conclusion.This modality enables simultaneous treatment of infected non-unions, axial alignment, vascularity, stability, and function.