Guichet Nail (G-Nail)
Guichet Nail (G-Nail) — Weight-Bearing Intramedullary Nail
A fully weight-bearing internal nail lengthened mechanically by controlled leg rotation — no external frame, walking with crutches from day one.
How it works
The Guichet nail (G-Nail) is a fully implanted mechanical lengthening nail based on the Albizzia nail that Dr Jean-Marc Guichet introduced in 1991, with the current version dating to 2010. It has no motor and no magnet: an internal ratchet advances 1/15 mm for roughly every 20 degrees of controlled leg rotation the patient performs, so lengthening is driven by movement rather than an external device. Its defining advantage is full weight-bearing with crutches from the day of surgery. The trade-off is that the rotational maneuvers used to lengthen can be painful at the osteotomy site.
At a glance
- Typical gain
- 5–8 cm
- Total recovery
- 12–20 weeks
- Distraction sites
- femur, tibia
- External hardware
- No
- Manufacturer
- Dr Jean-Marc Guichet (G-Nail; evolution of the Albizzia nail)
- Status
- Actively used
What this means for a patient
- ●Full weight-bearing from day one
- ●Fully internal — no external frame
- ●No motor or electronics that can fail
- ●Faster return to daily life than external-only methods
Trade-offs and risks
- ●Lengthening by rotation can be painful at the osteotomy site
- ●Patient must perform the rotation maneuvers
- ●Less fine-grained control than motorized or magnetic nails
- ●Requires a removal surgery after consolidation
This page is editorial reporting, not medical advice. Every patient anatomy is different — technique selection requires in-person consultation with a qualified surgeon.