You should seek the advice of your veterinarian if your pet is ill as only he or she can correctly advise on the diagnosis and recommend the treatment that is most appropriate for your pet.

"Stack pinning" is the insertion of multiple Steinmann pins intramedullary for the repair of bone fractures

The insertion of multiple (more than 3) small diameter Steinmann pins into the medullary cavity of a bone provides multiple points of contact between the pins and the inner surface of the bone cortex. In addition it provides multiple points of contact in the proximal and distal fragments of the bone, so reducing the possibility of rotational movement.

This technique is particularly useful for the management of transverse and short oblique midshaft fractures, and it can also be used as an alternative to Rush pins or cross-pinning for fractures in which one fragment is too short to accommodate two screws and a plate.

The pins are either inserted individually or together as a group, in the usual way for intramedullary pinning. They should be inserted parallel to each other. The last few pins to be driven home are the middle ones - these then push the other pins laterally within the medullary cavity, forcing them against the inner surface of the cortex. 

Weight bearing usually occurs within 7 days and bone healing occurs in a similar time frame to other methods of fixation.

This technique may be contraindicated if there are longitudinal fracture lines - but the fragments can be prevented from splitting away from the main cortex by the use of properly placed circlage wires.

Updated October 2013