[Comparative study of minimally invasive titanium elastic nail and steel plate on the treatment of fracture of tibiofibular fracture in adults].

OBJECTIVE: To compare the clinical outcomes of using elastic intramedullary nail and plate to fix fibular fracture. METHODS: The 60 patients with tibiofibular fractures admitted from January 2015 to December 2022 were divided into two groups:intramedullary nail group and plate group, 30 cases each, intramedullary nail group was treated with elastic intramedullary nail fixation group, plate group was treated with steel plate and screw fixation group. Intramedullary nail group, there were 18 males and 12 females, aged from 22 to 75 years old with an average of (39.4±9.8) years old, including 24 cases of traffic accidents injury, 6 cases of falling injury, 23 cases of closed fractures, 7 cases of open fractures. Steel plate group, there were 15 males and 15 females, aged from 24 to 78 years old with an average of (38.6±10.2) years old. The 22 cases were injured by traffic accident, 8 cases were injured by falling. The 24 cases were closed fractures and 6 cases were open fractures. The operation time, intraoperative bleeding, American Orthopedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) ankle and hind foot scores, clinical healing time of fibula and the incidence of wound complications were compared between the two groups. RESULTS: The patients in both groups were followed up for 6 to 21 months, with an average of (14.0±2.8) months. Compared with plate group, intramedullary nail group had shorter operative time, less bleeding, shorter clinical healing time of fibula, and lower infection rate of incision, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). There were 2 cases of delayed healing in intramedullary nail group, 1 case of nonunion in plate group, and 2 cases of delayed healing in plate group, and there was no statistically significant difference between the two groups (P>0.05). In the last follow-up, according to the AOFAS scoring standard, the ankle function in intramedullary nail group was excellent in 17 cases, good in 12 cases, fair in 1 case, with an average of (88.33±4.57) points, while in plate group, excellent in 16 cases, good in 10 cases, fair in 4 cases, with an average of (87.00±4.14) points;There was no statistical difference between the two groups (P>0.05). CONCLUSION: Elastic intramedullary nail has the advantages of short operation time, less intraoperative bleeding, short fracture healing time and less incision complications in the treatment of fibular fracture, which is worthy of clinical application.

[Clinical application of extracorporeal pneumatic reduction combined with bone-filled mesh bag implantation for the treatment of thoracolumbar osteoporotic burst fracture without spinal cord injury].

OBJECTIVE: To compare the clinical efficacy of pneumatic reduction combined with bone-filled mesh bag implantation and pneumatic reduction combined with kyphoplasty in the treatment of thoracolumbar burst fracture without spinal cord injury. METHODS: The clinical data of 160 patients with thoracolumbar osteoporotic burst fracture without spinal cord injury treated from January 2014 to July 2017 were retrospectively analyzed. There were 66 males and 94 females, aged from 72 to 84 years old with an average of 76.4 years old. The patients were divided into two groups according to different surgical methods, including 80 cases of pneumatic reduction combined with bone-filled mesh bag implantation(treatment group) and 80 cases of pneumatic reduction combined with kyphoplasty(control group). The intraoperative bone cement leakage rate was compared between two groups. The height of the injured vertebrae was measured by X-rays preoperatively and 6-month postoperatively in order to assess height loss of injured vertebrae. VAS score and ODI score were used for follow-up to assess lumbar back pain and autonomic dysfunction before surgery and 2 weeks, 6 months, 1 year after surgery. RESULTS: In treatment group, 3 cases occurred bone cement leakage during operation and leakage rate was 3.75%(3/80); In control group, 14 cases had cement leakage with leakage rate of 17.5%; The difference between two groups was statistically significant(P<0.05). All patients were followed up for 13 to 24 months with an average of 14.6 months. Among them, 2 cases occurred postoperative infections which were superficial infections. After oral antibiotics and outpatient treatment infections were controlled. At 6 months after surgery, the height of the injured vertebra was measured by X-ray. Treatment group recovered (5.12±1.31) % and control group recovered (14.11±1.17) %. The difference between two groups was statistically significant (P<0.05). At 1 year after surgery, ODI score was 4.03±1.62 in treatment group and 10.03±1.54 in control group. The difference between two groups was statistically significant(P<0.05). VAS score was 1.03±0.62 in treatment group and 2.67±0.55 in control group. The difference between groups was statistically significant(P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Extracorporeal pneumatic reduction combined with bone-filled mesh bag implantation technique can significantly reduce the occurrence of intraoperative cement leakage in the treatment of thoracolumbar osteoporotic burst fractures, effectively improve reposition of the injured vertebrae, relieve the pain and recover the function of lower back. However, high price of bone-filled mesh bags obstructs its clinical popularization.