Posterior malleolar fracture: technique and clinical ex-perience of the posterolateral approach

• Main Authors: HUANG Ruo-kun, XIE Ming, ZHAO Jing-jing, XIAO Kai, KAN Wu-sheng
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier 2012-04-01
• Series: Chinese Journal of Traumatology
• Online Access: http://www.cjtrauma.com/apps/ojs/index.php/cjt/article/view/193

【Abstract】Objective: To introduce the postero-lateral surgical approach to the posterior malleolar fracture and report its clinical outcomes in 32 cases. Methods: This study consisted of 32 cases, 22 males and 10 females with the mean age of 48 years (range, 21-63 years), suffering from posterior malleolar fracture. All cases were treated with the posterolateral surgical approach to the ankle. The average follow-up period was 28 months (range, 24-35 months). The clinical outcomes of these cases were evaluated on the basis of the Olerud-Molander Ankle (OMA) score and plain radiographs. Results: All cases showed radiological evidence of bony union at follow-up. The average OMA score was 82 points; 21 cases had excellent scores (90-100 points), 9 good (61-90 points), and 2 fair (31-60 points). The excellent-to-good rate was 93.8%. Although most cases did not show any wound dehiscence or necrosis, one patient had a su-perficial infection which healed after using antibiotic dress-ing and one had sural cutaneous nerve injury that under-went spontaneous remission without any treatment after three months. In addition, one presented with mild symp-toms of peroneal tendonitis that disappeared after plate removal. Conclusion: The posterolateral approach offers an effective technique for fracture reduction and fixation of large posterior malleolar fragments. Key words: Ankle injuries; Dislocations; Fracture fixation, internal