Tertiary Care Orthopedic Hospital Experience to Find Effect of Dynamisation in Delayed Union Tibia Shaft Fracture

Objective: Our study was designed to evaluate the effect of dynamisation in delayed union tibia shaft fractures. Methodology: This prospective study was conducted at the Orthopedic Department, Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Medical College, from March 2020 to March 2021. During this timeframe total of 20 patients who underwent dynamisation for reamed intramedullary nailing were recruited. After two successive visits, those patients whose fracture failed to show progressive signs of callus formation underwent dynamisation. We removed the single static screw from the longer fracture segment to perform the dynamisation procedure. We inserted a poller screw slightly medial to the nail from anterior to posterior to provide additional stability to the proximal fragment. Statistical analysis was performed by using SPSS 23.0. For evaluating the success of dynamisation Chi-square test was used. Results: The mean age of recruited patients was reported as 35.92 years ranging from 16 years to 63 years old. Out of these twenty cases, 17 were male (85%). The mean time duration of nailing was reported as 35.4 hours. Total fourteen patients were immediately treated with nailing within 20 hours of injury, while the rest six underwent delayed nailing. Total four cases of tibial fracture were turned out as failure because the patient failed to achieve union after dynamisation and underwent augmentation plating with bone grafting for the complete union. Conclusion: Delayed dynamisation is a convenient and cost-effective technique to achieve union in femoral shaft fractures. Overall, our study reported an 80% success rate but failed to achieve early dynamisation in comminuted fractures.

Application of unilateral external fixation by the “joystick technique” in the treatment of pediatric tibia shaft fractures: technical note

Background The aims of current study were to present the clinical outcomes in patients with pediatric tibia shaft fractures who were treated with unilateral external fixation combined with joystick for fracture reduction and describe the details of our technique. Methods We retrospectively analyzed the patients with pediatric tibia shaft fractures who were treated with unilateral external fixation combined with joystick for fracture reduction between July 2018 and March 2020. The clinical outcomes were evaluated. Results A total of 23 patients were included in the current study with the average age of 8.0 years (ranged 4–14 years). The average duration of hospital and follow-up were 5.9 days (ranged 4–8 days) and 17.4 months (ranged 8–27 months), respectively. At postoperative 3 days, the visual analog scale (VAS) score was 3.1 ± 1.43, which was significantly lower than the preoperative score of 7.3 ± 1.5. Of these, 2 cases showed redness and swelling of pin-tract and exudation at postoperative 1 month, who improved after oral antibiotics without causing fixation failure. The average time to full weight-bearing without crutches was 5.1 weeks (ranged 3–8 weeks). All patients achieved fracture healing and good functional recovery. No complications including fixation failure, reoperation, epiphyseal injury occurred, infection around implants, vessel damage, nerve damage, and limitation of joint movement were observed. The Johner-Wruh scores showed that 21 cases (91.3%) were “excellent” and 2 cases (8.7%) were “good.” Conclusions This procedure had advantages of simple operation, minimum trauma, early recovery of lower limb function, and no risk of complications. It may provide a new choice for children with tibia shaft fractures who require surgical treatment.

Iatrogenic Anterior Tibial Artery Pseudoaneurysm – A Rare Case Report

Introduction: Interlocking tibia nail fixation for tibia shaft fracture treatment is one of the most commonest procedures performed in orthopedic trauma practices. We report one such case of a rare complication of anterior tibial artery (ATA) pseudo-aneurysm caused by the proximal coronal locking bolt performed by an unusual entry from lateral to medial side during shaft of tibia fracture fixation. Case Report: A 86- years old female sustained a road traffic accident and was diagnosed with a closed tibia shaft fracture of the right leg for which she underwent intramedullary interlocking nail IMIL nailing elsewhere. She presented to us three 3 weeks after primary surgery with persistent pain and swelling in the right leg proximally. We investigated and diagnosed her as having a pseudoaneurysm of the Anterior Tibial Artery on color Doppler and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) angiography. The pseudoaneurysm of ATA was clipped without any complications. To avoid the rupture of the pseudoaneurysm during manipulation of nail and bolts, their positions were not changed as they were supporting the fracture well and the fracture was also not united at that time. Conclusion: Though Although interlocking nailing of tibia shaft fracture is a commonly performed procedure, it can lead to disastrous vascular complications if the procedure is not performed with utmost care. ATA injury by proximal locking bolts of the tibia nail mandates the need for reconsideration of the nail design with better screw hole positions. We recommend preferring standard AO manual instructions for proximal tibia locking bolt direction. Keywords: Pseudo-aneurysm, tibia nail, locking bolt, anterior tibial artery.

Extraction of Broken Tibial Interlock Nail with a Retrograde Hooked Guide Wire: A Novel Surgical Technique

Introduction: Removal of a distal piece of a broken nail often possesses a technical challenge. Several methods have been described in the past to extract a distal piece by using specialized instruments like such as hooks, olive wires, and talwalkar radial square nail etc. It is difficult to extract a distal piece from a proximal incision site and often fracture or the nonunion site has to be opened. In this article, we describe a novel technique to extract a distal piece of broken intramedullary tibia nail by retrograde manner using a guide wire with a “‘U”’ shaped bend at its distal end to hook the tip of a distal piece of broken nail and help in extraction. Case Report: A 43- year-s old male presented with complain of pain in left leg since 3 months. Patient had sustained left- sided compound Grade 2 tibia shaft fracture in a road traffic accident 4 years back. He was operated with tibia interlock nail followed by skin grafting for wound coverage in a different facility. On clinical examination: There was tenderness around distal tibia, no swelling, no coronal or sagittal plane fracture mobility, and no crepitus or loss of transmitted movements which suggested fracture union clinically. Radiographs confirmed complete union of tibia shaft fracture with hypertrophic nonunion of distal fibula with broken intramedullary nail IMN at the level of proximal most screw hole of distal locking holes with both distal locking screws broken. As fracture was united, we planned for removal of broken nail without opening fracture site. For extraction for distal tibial broken nail part, we used this new Retrograde Hooked Guide Wire technique. Conclusion: It is a simple, cost effective, minimally invasive procedure with minimal blood loss and decrease time of surgery that can be used before attempting more invasive extraction methods and hence should be included in standard procedures for extraction. Keywords: Tibia, interlock nail, broken nail, retrograde guide wire, nail removal.

Finite Element Analysis of Different Pin Diameter of External Fixator in Treating Tibia Fracture

Biomechanical perspective of external fixator is one of the biggest elements that should be considered in treating fracture bone. This is due to the mechanical behavior of the structure could be analyzed and optimized in order to avoid failure, increase bone fracture healing rate and prevents preterm screw loosening. There are three significant factors that affect the stability of external fixator and those are the placement of pin at the bone, configuration and components of external fixator. All these factors contribute to a question, what is the optimum pin diameter which exerts good stress distribution? To date, the research on the above-mentioned factors are limited in the literature. Therefore, this study was conducted to evaluate the unilateral external fixator with different pin sizes in treating tibia shaft fracture via the finite element method. First and foremost, the development of the tibia shaft fracture was conducted using Mimics software. The computed tomography (CT) data image was utilized to develop three-dimensional tibia bone followed by crafting fracture on the bone. Meanwhile, the unilateral external fixator was developed using SolidWorks software. In this study, five pin diameters (4.5, 5.0, 5.5, 6.0 and 6.5 mm) were developed and analyzed. Both tibia bone and external fixator were meshed in 3-matic software. Simulation of this configuration took place in a finite element software, Marc.Mentat. From the findings, it is shown that the larger diameter of pin demonstrated the lowest stress distribution. The size of the 5.5mm pin shows optimum diameter in terms of stress distribution with the value of 21.50 MPa in bone and 143.33 MPa in fixator. Meanwhile the displacement value of 1.42mm in bone and 1.20mm in fixator. In conclusion, it is suggested that the pin diameter of 5.5 mm is the most favorable option in treating tibia shaft fracture in terms of mechanical perspective.

Formulae derived from Anthropometric Measurements to Estimate Ideal Tibial Nail Length

ABSTRACT Introduction: Ideal Nail Length (INL) provides better outcomes after Intramedullary Nailing (IMN) of Tibia Shaft Fractures (TSF). Intraoperative methods do not allow for preoperative planning. Changing the nail may cause complications. X-rays are commonly used, but displacement or magnification errors may occur. Forearm measurements may be benefical in bilateral TSF. We aim to examine correlations of anthropometric measurements (AMs) and INL and use them to obtain formulae. Materials and methods: Tuberositas Tibia-Medial Malleolus (TM), Tuberositas Tibia-Ankle joint (TA), knee-ankle joint (JJ), and olecranon tip-5th Metacarpal head (OM) distances were evaluated in 76 IMN patients. Correlation analyses were performed and the results used to create formulae. Results: The correlations between INL and TM-left, TM-right, TA-left, TA-right, OM-left, OM-right, JJ-left, JJ-right were 0.81, 0.83, 0.77, 0.77, 0.82, 0.80, 0.90, 0.91 respectively for males; and 0.93, 0.89, 0.88, 0.86, 0.80, 0.82, 0.90, 0.89 respectively for females. AMs show excellent correlation in both sexes (p<0.0001). Regression analysis was statistically significant in all formulae. The most compatible correlations in males were JJ-right and JJ-left; and in females, TM-left, TM-right, and JJ-right. Conclusion: The most compatible correlations wth INL were JJ in males, and TM and JJ in females. OM can be used in the presence of bilateral TSF, edema, wounds and obesity. AMs are useful preoperatively. The formulae can be used to ensure INL and reduce errors, time and radiation. Level of Evidence: Level I, Testing of previously developed diagnostic criteria on consecutive patients (with the universally applied reference gold standard).

Fracture-related outcome study for operatively treated tibia shaft fractures (F.R.O.S.T.): registry rationale and design

Background Tibial shaft fractures (TSFs) are among the most common long bone injuries often resulting from high-energy trauma. To date, musculoskeletal complications such as fracture-related infection (FRI) and compromised fracture healing following fracture fixation of these injuries are still prevalent. The relatively high complication rates prove that, despite advances in modern fracture care, the management of TSFs remains a challenge even in the hands of experienced surgeons. Therefore, the Fracture-Related Outcome Study for operatively treated Tibia shaft fractures (F.R.O.S.T.) aims at creating a registry that enables data mining to gather detailed information to support future clinical decision-making regarding the management of TSF’s. Methods This prospective, international, multicenter, observational registry for TSFs was recently developed. Recruitment started in 2019 and is planned to take 36 months, seeking to enroll a minimum of 1000 patients. The study protocol does not influence the clinical decision-making procedure, implant choice, or surgical/imaging techniques; these are being performed as per local hospital standard of care. Data collected in this registry include injury specifics, treatment details, clinical outcomes (e.g., FRI), patient-reported outcomes, and procedure- or implant-related adverse events. The minimum follow up is 12 months. Discussion Although over the past decades, multiple high-quality studies have addressed individual research questions related to the outcome of TSFs, knowledge gaps remain. The scarcity of data calls for an international high-quality, population-based registry. Creating such a database could optimize strategies intended to prevent severe musculoskeletal complications. The main purpose of the F.R.O.S.T registry is to evaluate the association between different treatment strategies and patient outcomes. It will address not only operative techniques and implant materials but also perioperative preventive measures. For the first time, data concerning systemic perioperative antibiotic prophylaxis, the influence of local antimicrobials, and timing of soft-tissue coverage will be collected at an international level and correlated with standardized outcome measures in a large prospective, multicenter, observational registry for global accessibility. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT03598530.