A narrative historical introduction to a JOT supplement marking 75 years of contemporary intramedullary nailing. Born traces the technique from Küntscher's 1939 breakthrough through WWII dissemination, image intensifier adoption, the locking nail revolution, and expansion to periarticular fractures. The article frames five accompanying review articles covering IMN evolution through 2014.
Every locking nail you place connects back to a specific lineage of development: Klemm/Schellmann in 1972 first added locking screws, Grosse/Kempf refined the system in 1976, and by 1993 the construct was standard of care for femoral shaft fractures.
When you choose a cephalomedullary nail for an intertrochanteric fracture, you are using a concept Küntscher himself described in 1940 and the Gamma Nail popularized in 1989. Knowing this lineage helps you understand why the implant is designed the way it is.
The early US complication experience is a standing lesson: rapid adoption of a technique without structured training and quality implants produces bad outcomes even when the underlying method is sound. This is why credentialing, simulation, and implant standards exist.
This article is background reading, not a primary data source. Use it to anchor the conceptual history before reading the five data-driven reviews in the same JOT supplement.
A narrative historical introduction to a JOT supplement marking 75 years of contemporary intramedullary nailing. Born traces the technique from Küntscher's 1939 breakthrough through WWII dissemination, image intensifier adoption, the locking nail revolution, and expansion to periarticular fractures. The article frames five accompanying review articles covering IMN evolution through 2014.
Every locking nail you place connects back to a specific lineage of development: Klemm/Schellmann in 1972 first added locking screws, Grosse/Kempf refined the system in 1976, and by 1993 the construct was standard of care for femoral shaft fractures.
When you choose a cephalomedullary nail for an intertrochanteric fracture, you are using a concept Küntscher himself described in 1940 and the Gamma Nail popularized in 1989. Knowing this lineage helps you understand why the implant is designed the way it is.
The early US complication experience is a standing lesson: rapid adoption of a technique without structured training and quality implants produces bad outcomes even when the underlying method is sound. This is why credentialing, simulation, and implant standards exist.
This article is background reading, not a primary data source. Use it to anchor the conceptual history before reading the five data-driven reviews in the same JOT supplement.