Impact of the Ilizarov apparatus on external fixation: Current modifications of the 75-year-old orthopedic tool

Table 1 Summary of external fixation modifications discussed in the recent literature

Limb lengthening and deformity correction	Bone defects and nonunion	Foot and ankle pathology	Small bone foot and hand pathology	Fracture repair	Rare application
Flexible intramedullary nailing + external fixation in children with metabolic bone disorders, skeletal dysplasias with compromised bone tissue development, femoral deficiency and fibular hemimelia, polyostotic fibrous dysplasia	Novel technique of three-ring Ilizarov fixator frame in gap non-union of tibia	Universal external configuration for correction of foot and ankle deformities	Enlargement of the great toe by applying transverse distraction with a mini-fixator of the original type for future finger transposition	Definitive circular external fixation for acute tibial fracture-related infection	Lengthening after limb replantation
Intramedullary telescopic nailing used in combination with a reduced Ilizarov frame in children with osteogenesis imperfecta	Post-traumatic infected non-union of the humerus managed by hybrid ring fixators	Calcaneal lengthening using a specialized Ilizarov external fixator assembly in posttraumatic shortening	Metacarpal lengthening for thumb reconstruction with special mini-ring fixators	Closed reduction and Ilizarov/hybrid fixator application for complex proximal tibia fractures	Modified hip reconstruction surgery
External fixation and extramedullary intamedullary nailing for lengthening and deformity correction in fibular hemimelia	Internal cable as a guide to transport the fragment with a unilateral fixator	Transverse tibia distraction for the treatment of diabetic foot ulcer complicated with chronic osteomyelitis	First web-space plasty with the Ilizarov mini-fixator for functional and esthetic improvement	Treatment of intra-articular calcaneal fractures with Polish modification of the Ilizarov external fixator
Bone lengthening and deformity correction with Smart Taylor spatial frame	Hexapod system with a computer program for combined soft-tissue and osseous defects	Technique of hindfoot reconstruction in chronic calcaneal osteomyelitis	Ilizarov mini-fixator for the purpose of interdigital widening and elongation of the flap
Bone lengthening with motorized intramedullary nail in posttraumatic length discrepancies	Hybrid techniques (external fixators with internal implants)	Use of tibial bone transport for treatment of massively infected hindfoot defects to salvage it	Treatment of chronic Monteggia fracture-dislocations in children with Ilizarov mini-fixator
Modifications on Ilizarov fixation for flexed knee deformity and double telescope rods design for limb lengthening	Integrating three-dimensional-printed customized guides with hemicorticotomy bone transport	Closed arthrodesis in infected neuropathic ankles using Ilizarov ring fixation
Minimally invasive osteotomy and simple circular fixation for adolescent late-onset tibia vara	Transverse tibial transport in thromboangiitis obliterans and mini-transverse tibial transport	Distraction arthroplasty in the treatment of moderate-to-severe ankle arthritis
Personalized assemblies constructed from the Ilizarov apparatus sets for complex congenital deformities
Management of complex knee deformity using Ortho-SUV