Masquelet induced membrane technique combined with an external locking plate for treatment of infectious bone defects of the tibia / 中华创伤骨科杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To investigate the efficacy of Masquelet induced membrane technique combined with an external locking plate in the treatment of infectious bone defects of the tibia.Methods:A retrospective study was conducted to analyze the data of 32 patients with infectious bone defects of the tibia who had been treated by Masquelet induced membrane technique combined with an external locking plate at Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, The Fourth Hospital of Wuhan from January 2011 to January 2021. There were 22 males and 10 females, with an age of (43.2±13.1) years. The length of bone defects was (5.1±1.3) cm. By the Cierny-Mader classification, there were 12 cases of type Ⅲ and 20 cases of type Ⅳ. The defects were located at the proximal tibia in 11 cases, at the middle tibia in 12, and at the distal tibia in 9. At the last follow-up, the lower limb function was evaluated by the Paley scale, and the quality of life by the 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36).Results:All the 32 patients were followed up for (21.2±5.7) months. Normal healing was achieved in 30 cases but delayed healing occurred in 2 cases. The external plate and screws were removed at (23.1±4.6) weeks after operation. There was no infection in the original surgical incision or no injury to the nerve, blood vessel or tendon after operation, but nail tract infection occurred more or less in 3 cases. According to the Paley scale at the last follow-up, the lower limb function was evaluated as excellent in 22 cases, as good in 8, and as fair in 2, giving an excellent and good rate of 93.75% (30/32). The SF-36 quality of life score was (88.9±3.8) points.Conclusion:In the treatment of infectious bone defects of the tibia, Masquelet induced membrane technique combined with an external locking plate can achieve satisfactory clinical outcomes due to its effective control of infection, reduction in delayed healing, good stability and good patient tolerance.