COMPARISON OF THE ANCHORING STRENGTHS OF THE KOPANS AND HAWKINS-II NEEDLE HOOK-WIRE SYSTEMS

To determine whether needle-hook-wire anchoring strength is a factor in accidental repositioning of a hook wire, 5-cm Kopans and Hawkins II hook wires were placed axially (n = 9) and coronally (n = 5) in mastectomy specimens. The tension required to pull the hook wires 1, 2, 3, and 5 cm and to increase the barb angle to 90-degrees and 180-degrees were compared. The average anchoring strength of the Hawkins II hook wire was greater than that of the Kopans hook wire, by 2.6 times (P < .001; all distances, both angles) with the wires in the axial plane and by 1.6 times (P < .06; intervals and angles combined) in the coronal plane.