Which fixation option best describes a combination that provides compression and promotes osteogenesis?

Which fixation option best describes a combination that provides compression and promotes osteogenesis?

• A. External fixator
• B. Lag screws
• C. Kirschner wires
• D. Lag screws and dynamic compression plates

Answer: (D)

Providing compression across fracture fragments while maintaining stable fixation creates the mechanical environment that promotes bone healing. Interfragmentary compression directly brings the two bone pieces together, while overall stability lets bone-forming tissue bridge the gap rather than being disrupted by micromotion. Lag screws achieve interfragmentary compression by drawing the fragments toward each other as the screw is tightened and the far cortex grips the screw threads. A dynamic compression plate translates that tightening into sustained axial compression across the fracture, especially across multiple fragments, by design of its holes and the way the screws interact with the plate. Using both together—lag screws to create precise, targeted compression at fracture lines and a dynamic compression plate to maintain and augment compression along the construct—produces a stable, compressed environment that encourages osteogenesis. The other options don’t provide this combination as effectively: an external fixator can produce compression but relies on external hardware and often lacks the same definitive internal compression across the fracture; Kirschner wires offer minimal compression and are less suitable for promoting robust osteogenesis; lag screws alone provide compression but lack the broader, maintained stability that a dynamic compression plate adds across a multi-fragment injury.

Providing compression across fracture fragments while maintaining stable fixation creates the mechanical environment that promotes bone healing. Interfragmentary compression directly brings the two bone pieces together, while overall stability lets bone-forming tissue bridge the gap rather than being disrupted by micromotion.

Lag screws achieve interfragmentary compression by drawing the fragments toward each other as the screw is tightened and the far cortex grips the screw threads. A dynamic compression plate translates that tightening into sustained axial compression across the fracture, especially across multiple fragments, by design of its holes and the way the screws interact with the plate.

Using both together—lag screws to create precise, targeted compression at fracture lines and a dynamic compression plate to maintain and augment compression along the construct—produces a stable, compressed environment that encourages osteogenesis.

The other options don’t provide this combination as effectively: an external fixator can produce compression but relies on external hardware and often lacks the same definitive internal compression across the fracture; Kirschner wires offer minimal compression and are less suitable for promoting robust osteogenesis; lag screws alone provide compression but lack the broader, maintained stability that a dynamic compression plate adds across a multi-fragment injury.