Surgical Treatment of Displaced Intra-Articular Calcaneal Fracture with Tri-Cortical Iliac Bone Graft

Abstract

Management of displaced intra-articular calcaneal fracture has remained unclear for orthopedic surgeons and there is controversy to choose the best methods of treatment. Wide range of post-operative complications and variety of outcomes cause this complexity. Although, there is no strong evidence, in which support superior benefit of bone grafting in treatment of DIACF, it is still a popular method. The objective of this study was to present outcome and complications of surgical management of DIACF with tri-cortical iliac bone graft. Fifty-three cases containing 47 men (57 feet) and six women (7 feet) with DIACF underwent surgery by mean of tri-cortical auto graft bone from iliac crest. AOFAS hind foot scale (consist of subjective and objective variables including three major categories pain, function and alignment) and VAS questionnaires were used for full assessment of post-operative outcomes and complications. Mann–Whitney U test was used to compare means. The mean ± SD AOFAS hind foot score was 88.18 ± 7.12. AOFAS hind foot and VAS scores showed no significant difference between male and female. Nevertheless, better outcome of surgery among those below 35 year of age based on AOFAS hind foot score. Use of bone graft for treatment of DIACF might yield better results, however, the results probably differ in various conditions and situations. At the end, we recommend comparing results of different methods of treatment of DIACF by one large clinical trial with under the control of confounders.