Treatment of calcaneal fracture with anatomical calcaneal external fixator / 中华创伤骨科杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To investigate the short-term efficacy of anatomical calcaneal external fixator in the treatment of calcaneal fractures.Methods:A retrospective study was conducted of the 9 patients with calcaneal fracture who had been admitted to Department of Orthopedics, 920 Hospital of the PLA Joint Logistics Support Force between September 2019 and March 2020. There were 7 males and 2 females, aged from 23 to 66 years (mean, 41.3 years). The injury was caused by a fall from a height in 6 cases and a traffic accident in 3 cases. By the Sanders classification, there were 2 cases of type ⅡB, 2 cases of type ⅢAC, 3 type Ⅲ AB, one of type Ⅲ BC and one type Ⅳ. By the AO grading for closed soft tissue injury in the 8 closed fractures, there were 5 cases of grade Ⅰ and 3 cases of grade Ⅱ. The one open fracture was type ⅢB by the Gustilo-Anderson classification and treated with skin flap repair after debridement. All the 9 patients were treated with an anatomic calcaneal external fixator during stage-one or stage-two surgery (8 patients in stage-one and one in stage-two). The fracture union time for the patients was recorded; the ankle and hindfoot score of American Orthopedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) and the protocol of Association for the Study and Application of the Method of Ilizarov (ASAMI) were used at the last follow-up to assess the short-term efficacy.Results:Postoperative follow-up for the 9 patients ranged from 6 to 18 months (mean, 9.8 months). The duration of fracture union in the 9 patients ranged from 2 to 4 months (mean 2.8 months). The AOFAS ankle and hindfoot score at last follow-up ranged from 79 to 93 points (mean, 84.7 points) for the male patients (6 excellent and one good), and from 82 to 91 points (mean, 86.5 points) for the female patients (one excellent and one good). According to the ASAMI protocol at last follow-up, the short-term efficacy was rated as excellent in 6 cases, as good in 2 cases and as fair in one. The patients with closed fracture could get out of bed for rehabilitation on day 3 after surgery. None of the patients experienced such complications as pin tract infection and osteomyelitis during follow-up.Conclusion:The anatomic external calcaneal fixator demonstrates fine short-term efficacy in the treatment of calcaneal fractures, due to its advantages like anatomical configuration, a limited number of implants, and a possibility of partial weight-bearing for exercises on the third postoperative day.