In-out-in pinning for phalangeal fractures.

Although a commonly used technique, percutaneous pinning of phalangeal fractures is tricky because of the difficulties associated with getting the correction pin orientation when entering the medullary canal of one fragment from the outer cortex of the other fragment. This has led us to develop the "in-out-in" pinning technique. The principle consists of entering the medullary canal of one of the fragments directly from the fracture site. The pin is inserted and drilled outward through the outer cortex. The second pin is inserted in the same manner. The fragments are then aligned and the pins pushed forward in the medullary canal of the other fragment.