BONEHELIX® - the limited flexibility medullary cavity stabilizer for the treatment of shaft fractures

BONEHELIX® - For the well-being of patients and doctors

BONEHELIX® enables shorter surgery times with faster healing.

BONEHELIX® is the revolutionary implant for the treatment of long bone fractures, particularly in the upper arm and lower leg. The use of BONEHELIX® allows shorter and less stressful operations, and leads to more rapid healing of the fracture.  

BONEHELIX® is an invention of Professor Reiner Labitzke. The use of intramedullary nails, in his view, results in more problems for patients. Just the forces produced during the hammering in of the nails and the accompanying destruction of bone marrow raised questions regarding the treatment.

Added to this the knowledge that rigid binding does not necessarily speed up healing, and that some mobility stimulates the osteoblasts (according to Wolf and Basset), which leads to rapid healing of the fracture.

BONEHELIX® – a spring which isn’t a spring

His idea, therefore, consisted of a spring which isn’t a spring, but is so flexible in motion that slight movement, to stimulate callus formation at the edge of the fracture, is possible, while retaining all the stability required for fracture healing.

BONEHELIX® is CE approved in many European countries.

BONEHELIX® Everything in a sterilization box

All required tools and basic equipment are supplied in a sterilization box.

Compact and budget-friendly

The BONEHELIX® is supplied with all necessary tools and basic equipment in different lengths and diameters, and ensures complete, all-round provision for clinics. For future use, only individual components required for surgery need to be replenished. This leads to space saving as well as exceptionally high savings in costs.

Depending on the application, helices differ in length and outside diameter (cable strength).

  • For use in the humerus: H1, H2 and H3 with three diameters
  • For use in the tibia: T1, T2 and T3 with three diameters
  • For use in children: C1, C2 and C3 with three diameters

The material used is the surgical long-term implant steel alloy 1.4441, in compliance with the requirements of DIN EN 5832-1.

Three BONE HELIX® for fractures of the humerus, tibia or in children, in different wire thicknesses, are contained in the unit.

Simplest Operation

Access to the medullary cavity is gained using the awl.
The guiding rod is inserted into the medullary cavity to straighten the bones into contact, and then inserted into the distal fragment.
If repositioning in required the repositioning rod, with its curved tip, is available.
The BONEHELIX® is screwed into the predetermined length (and correspondingly shortened) using the guide rod with the insertion/removal driver. With the helix positioned in the lower fragment after two turns, the guide rod is pulled out. Now the helix is turned again until the head is flush with the bone.

Advantages of the BONEHELIX®

Patients benefit from:

  • Significantly reduction in surgery time      
  • Rapid healing of the fracture
  • Reduced radiation exposure due to simplified surgery   
  • Active stimulation of the osteoblasts for callus formation through the limited flexibility BONEHELIX®
  • Effective, careful stabilization of the fracture, since the volume of the helix is only one tenth of a rigid intramedullary nail

Doctors benefit from:

  • Significant reduction in surgery time to an average of 30 minutes
  • No splicing of the bone, by gentle turning in and out of the helix instead of inserting a nail
  • The absence of locking means that the radiation load is significantly lower for surgical staff
  • BONEHELIX® is screwed in like a corkscrew, leaving the bone marrow intact (instead of boring the bone)

Hospitals benefit from

  • Cost-effective storage of only a small number of necessary helices and tools
  • Shortened cleaning times for instruments
  • No special requirements for storage and /or transport
  • The specific tools for using the BONEHELIX® are supplied
  • Shortened waiting times for patients in treatment