The Kirschner or "K" wires are a very handy device in the hands of the orthopedist. Besides their usage with cannulated screws, they are used in many other ways to help reduce and stabilize fractures. A K wire is essentially an unthreaded segment of extruded wire which is drilled into bone like a drill bit. The major advantage of a K wire is that it is very small and relatively noninvasive as hardware goes. It can be placed through an articular surface or even across an open physeal plate without injury. K wires can be used for either temporary or final stabilization. They can be placed between bones as shown below, or they can be used as an intramedullary device to bridge a fracture of a small tubular bone. They are commonly used to help piece all of the fragments of a comminuted fracture prior to placement of the final fixation device, especially with an intraarticular fracture.