Effect upon longitudinal growth of femur by intramedullary nailing in rats.

In an experimental study using rats it was found that intramedullary nailing through the distal femoral growth plate resulted in a significant retardation of longitudinal growth. Drilling only and pin removal after 7 weeks also gave significant inhibition of growth after 14 weeks, while drilling only with immediate removal of the pin gave no growth disturbance during the first 7 weeks. The investigation indicates that damage to the central portion of the epiphyseal growth plate in rats leads to inhibition of longitudinal growth.