Surgical management of proximal tibia plateau fracture: 4 year prospective study

Abstract

Introduction: Tremendous advance in mechanization and fastness of travel have been accompanied by steep increase in number and severity of fractures and those of tibial plateau are no exception. Knee being one of the major weight bearing joints of the body, fractures around it will be of paramount importance. Materials and Methods: A 4 year prospective study was conducted, to know the functional outcome in operatively treated tibial plateau fractures in adults were included from blde university Vijayapura. The total number 60 patients. Results: Out of 60 cases treated with surgical procedure, 39 cases gave excellent result, 12 cases came out with good result, fair in 3 case and 3 case had poor result, mainly due to the severity of the injury and infections. It was found that high velocity injuries (type IV - VI) have poor outcome than low velocity injuries (type I-III) 4. All fractures united within expected time. Not a single case of nonunion was noted in our series. Average time for union was 14 weeks (range 10-22 weeks). The three cases had wound infection two had stiffness of the knee joint and one case had malunion. Conclusion: We conclude that the functional outcome is good in operatively treated tibial plateau fractures in adults. The surgical management of tibial plateau fractures is challenging and gives excellent anatomical reduction & rigid fixation to restore articular congruity, fascilitate early knee motion by reducing post-traumatic osteoarthritis and thus achieving optimal knee function.