Two-Year Follow-up Results of Anteroposterior Cannulated Screw Fixation of Posterior Malleolar Fragment in the Trimalleolar Fracture / 대한족부족관절학회지

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to assess the 2-year follow-up results of patients with a trimalleolar fracture, who had undergone an anterior incision cannulated screw fixation of the posterior malleolar fragment, which had more than 25% of articular involvement or had no cortical continuity with the distal tibia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Among 28 patients with a trimalleolar fracture who had undergone fixation of the posterior malleolar fragment between February 2005 and February 2010, 14 patients, who underwent an anterior incision cannulated screw fixation of posterior malleolar fragment and were followed-up for more than 2 years, were selected. The postoperative clinical and radiological findings immediately and at the 1- and 2-year follow-up were compared. The clinical findings were evaluated as American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) score. The radiological assessment was evaluated as the maintenance of reduction, period to bone union, and the presence of nonunion, malunion, and complications. RESULTS: The clinical outcome by mean AOFAS score revealed 83.0 points in the group with preoperative displacement below 2 mm and 80.7 points in the group with preoperative displacement above 2 mm postoperatively. The mean AOFAS score was 91.7 and 93.1 points in the group with preoperative displacement below 2 mm on 1- and 2-year follow-up, respectively, and 89.8 and 91.7 points in group with the preoperative displacement above 2 mm on 1- and 2-year follow-up, respectively. After a 2-year follow-up among 14 cases selected for this study, 13 cases showed an excellent reduction state and only 1 case (7.1%) showed a displacement of more than 2 mm. No complication were encountered in the group with preoperative displacement below 2 mm. On the other hand, among 8 patients in the group with preoperative displacement above 2 mm, there were 3 with limitations of the range of motion of the ankle joint (37.5%) and 1 post-traumatic arthritis (12.5%) at the 2-year follow-up. CONCLUSION: Anterior incision cannulated screw fixation of the posterior malleolar fragment could be a valuable method for the treatment of trimalleolar fractures that provides satisfactory results.