1343 Post-Operative Outcomes of Circular External Fixation in The Treatment of Tibial Plafond Fractures: A Systematic Review

Introduction Tibial plafond fractures (TPF) are uncommon but potentially devastating injuries to the ankle. Meticulous care of the associated soft tissue injury is imperative in managing these fractures. The reported benefits of circular external fixation (CEF) include the ability to affect fracture reduction and create stable fixation, while limiting further soft tissue insult. This article provides the systematic review of the clinical and functional outcomes of TPF treated definitively with CEF. Method A literature search from inception to 13th November 2020 was performed. Quality and risk of bias was assessed using standardised scoring tools. Results 16 studies were included. 303 patients were analysed. Mean follow-up was 35 months. The mean time in CEF was 18 weeks and mean time to union was 21 weeks. Non-union and malunion occurred in 3.2% and 12.4% respectively. The overall complication rate was 12.3%. The rate of deep infection was 4.8%. No amputations were reported. Minor soft tissue infection (including pin site infections) accounted for 56.7% of complications. Almost two-thirds achieved good-to-anatomic reduction radiologically. Mean range of motion assessments were 11.8 and 24.8 degrees in dorsiflexion and plantarflexion, respectively. Approximately one-third reported excellent functional outcome scores. Quality of the studies was deemed satisfactory. A moderate risk of bias was acknowledged. Conclusions This systematic review provides an evidence-based summary, which highlights CEF as an acceptable treatment option with comparable complication rate and outcome scores to that of internal fixation. However, we acknowledge that high quality evidence is still lacking.