Glossary term
Retrograde
Nail insertion from the distal (lower) end of the bone, moving upward.
Updated 2026-03-010 aliases3 sourcesUsed across articles and safety pages
Definition
A direction of intramedullary nail insertion from the distal (lower) end of the bone toward the proximal (upper) end. In femoral lengthening, retrograde insertion enters through the knee region.
Updated 2026-03-01
Sources
- Complications and risk factors of intramedullary bone lengthening nails — Frost MW et al., Acta Orthopaedica, 2023official_publicAccessed 2026-02-28
314 nails multicenter. Precice ~9% failure, STRYDE ~19%. ~1% risk per mm.
- Vogt B et al. - A clinical and radiological matched-pair analysis of patients treated with the PRECICE and STRYDE magnetically driven motorized intramedullary lengthening nailsofficial_publicAccessed 2026-07-12
STRYDE 65% osteolysis rate. Matched comparison with Precice 2.
- Calder PR et al. - Femoral lengthening using the Precice intramedullary limb-lengthening system: outcome comparison following antegrade and retrograde nailsofficial_publicAccessed 2026-07-12
107 femoral lengthenings. 96% distraction accuracy. Antegrade vs retrograde compared.
Informational only. Not medical advice.