A Single Surgeon’s Experience of Infection Rates in K-Wires in Hand Surgery: Buried vs. Exposed.

Abstract There is anecdotal evidence suggesting buried K-wires are superior to unburied or exposed K-wires due to lower pin track infection rates, although the evidence remains unclear. We present a closed loop audit looking at a single surgeon’s experience of 111 consecutive cases requiring K-wires in hand surgery. Our pin track infection rates differed between a series of 3 consecutive cohorts. Pin track infection rates were 2% in an initial cohort of buried K-wires, 14.3% in a second cohort of exposed K-wires and 0% in a third cohort when practice was changed back to burying the K-wires. Our experience demonstrates there was a measurable difference in post-procedure infection rates between burying and exposing K-wire ends.