Treatment of open tibial plateau fractures with Hybrid external fixation / 中华创伤骨科杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To evaluate the clinical results of minimally invasive surgery for open tibial plateau fractures using minimally open reduction and Hybrid external fixation.Methods From January 2011 through January 2015,9 complicated open tibial plateau fractures were treated with Hybrid external fixation.They were 6 males and 3 females,with an average age of 33.8 years (range,from 18 to 53 years).According to the Schatzker classification,there were 5 cases of type Ⅴ and 4 ones of type Ⅵ.According to the Gustilo classification,there were 5 cases of type Ⅱ,3 ones of type Ⅲ A and one of type Ⅲ B.All the patients were treated with Hybrid external fixation with or without minimally open reduction.Results The average operation time was 185.6 minutes (from 140 to 240 minutes).The average time for hospital stay was 18.4 days (from 10 to 45 days).The patients were followed up for an average of 15.6 months (from 6 to 36 months).All the 9 fractures got united after an average time of 4.3 months (from 3 to 7 months).The external fixation was removed after confirmation of fracture union.According to Merchant scores,the clinical results were evaluated as excellent in 4 cases,as good in 3,as fair in one and as poor in one.The knee joint was stable in each case.Pin tract infection was observed in one and wire loosening in one.Conclusion Hybrid external fixation with or without minimally open reduction is a safe and feasible surgical method which avoids massive soft tissue dissection for complicated open tibial plateau fractures.