The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, Vol 69, Issue 5 761-766, Copyright © 1987 by Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, Inc
Radiation exposure to the surgeon during closed interlocking intramedullary nailing
PE Levin, RW Schoen and BD Browner
During interlocking intramedullary nailing of twenty-five femoral and five
tibial fractures, the primary surgeon wore both a universal film badge on
the collar of the lead apron and a thermoluminescent dosimeter ring on the
dominant hand to quantify the radiation that he or she received. When
distal interlocking was performed, the first ring was removed and a second
ring was used so that a separate recording could be made for this portion
of the procedure. At the conclusion of the study, all of the recorded doses
of radiation were averaged. The average amount of radiation to the head and
neck during the entire procedure was 7.0 millirems of deep exposure and 8.0
millirems of shallow exposure. The average dose of radiation to the
dominant hand during insertion of the intramedullary nail and the proximal
interlocking screw was 13.0 millirems, while the average amount during
insertion of the distal interlocking nail was 12.0 millirems. Both of these
averages are well within the government guidelines for allowable exposure
to radiation during one-quarter (three months) of a year. Precautions that
are to be observed during this procedure are recommended.
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