Hoffman LRF Telescopic Strut Short || Stryker || Stryker Trauma AG || CH-2545 Seizach || Distributed in the USA by || Howmedica Osteonics Corp. || 325 Corporate Drive || Mahwah, NJ 07430. || The use of external devices provides the surgeon with a means of bone fixation for the management of fracture and reconstructive surgery. These devices are intended only to assist healing and are not intended to replace normal bone structures. External fixation devices are intended to hold fractured bone surfaces in apposition to facilitate normal healing. While proven successful, the devices are manufactured from metal, plastic, and composite materials. No such fracture fixation device, subject to fatigue, can be expected to withstand activity levels in the same way as would a normal health bone. The external fixation system, therefore, will not be as strong, reliable or durable as a normal human bone.