Suprapatellar approach for tibial nailing: literature review

Intramedullary nailing is «gold standard» for treatment of diaphyseal tibial fractures. An infrapatellar approach was used for many years. However, this technique has a number of drawbacks. To deal with this problem, different alternative surgical approaches were introduced. A suprapatellar approach is getting more and more popular due to its potential benefits in comparison to other techniques. However, different complications were described in using this approach. According to literature, the number of these complications may be reduced by the proper surgical technique. Despite of its popularity in our country, we could not reveal any publications in russian literature dedicated to this topic. Therefore, the aim of this review was to describe the surgical technique of suprapatellar approach, to make an up to date analysis of its statistically significant advantages and disadvantages in comparison to other surgical approaches for intramedullary tibial nailing.