Abstract
IntroductionWe present a systematic review of the literature for the management of tibial eminence fractures in the paediatric population. Our aims were to assess modalities of injury, treatment options available and their associated complications.Materials and methodsWe found 740 relevant citations in the English literature up to 1 October 2012, of which 36 full text articles met our inclusion criteria.ResultsOur results show that skiing, sports and motor vehicle accidents are increasingly common modes of injury, in addition to the commonly described fall off of a bicycle. Most studies advocate non-operative management for type I Meyer’s and McKeever’s fractures and reduction and internal fixation for type II and III fractures. Better long-term results have been reported with arthroscopic surgery compared to open surgery. There is no consensus as to which type of fixation is best suited for tibial eminence fractures; methods available include excision of the bony fragment, K-wire, screw and, absorbable suture fixation, and more recently, suture anchor and meniscal arrow. The main complications reported include arthrofibrosis, non-union, mal-union, pain and severe laxity. Early post-operative range of motion exercises have been shown to reduce the incidence of arthrofibrosis.ConclusionAs all papers report results from small case series, Level I studies are required to produce more definitive evidence for the management of paediatric tibial eminence fractures.
Highlights
Introduction We present a systematic review of the literature for the management of tibial eminence fractures in the paediatric population
Avoiding damage to growth plates is a main concern in open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF) of paediatric intercondylar fractures, there were no reports of growth arrest in the current review reported, except after fracture during manipulation under anaesthesia (MUA) for post operative arthrofibrosis [5]
There are no randomized trials focusing on paediatric tibial spine fractures, a number of observations can be made from this systematic review
Summary
We present a systematic review of the literature for the management of tibial eminence fractures in the paediatric population. Fractures of the tibial eminence represent avulsion fractures of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) insertion [1]. They are uncommon, with an age peak in children and adolescents [2,3,4,5,6,7,8]. Type III fractures were further subdivided into ‘not rotated’ and ‘rotated’. This classification was modified by Zaricznyj [13] to include comminuted avulsion fractures (type IV) (see Fig. 1)
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