A cerclage wire is a wire which is wound during surgery around several broken bony fragments to hold them together until they heal.

 

Shattered patella

When a bone is shattered - for example the patella - the pieces are often impossible to plate and cerclage wires may offer a chance for the pieces to unite again.

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Dr Sheila Strover (Editor)
BSc (Hons), MB BCh, MBA

See biography...