Objective To analyze prognostic relative factors in treatment by evaluating the surgical results of tibial pilon fracture retrospectively. Methods 32 cases with unilateral tibial pilon fracture were treated operatively between January 1997 and December 1999. Among them, 16 cases were found with unsatisfied results due to incisional complications, degenerative changes and stiffness of the ankle joint. Of 16 cases, there were 13 males and 3 females. The average age was 36.5 years (range, 25 to 55 years). The mechanisms of injury were fall in 7 cases, traffic accident in 5 cases, crash in 3 cases and other cause in 1 case. 6 cases with open fracture were treated in emergency. However, 10 cases with closed fracture were operated with an average interval of 8.1 days from injury to surgery(range, 2 to 25 days). According to the Ruedi-Allgower classification, there were type Ⅱ fracture in 7 cases and type Ⅲ fracture in 9 cases. Furthermore, there were 14 cases associated with fibular fracture. During operation, 7 cases were treated with open reduction and internal fixation with plates and screws, and 9 cases were treated with open reduced minimally and external fixation with a cast. Results The average period of follow-up was 24 months (range, 12 to 36 months). According to Mazurs criterion, the result of the treatment was evaluated as fair in 6 cases, 4 cases of which were type Ⅱ fracture, and 2 cases type Ⅲ fracture; poor in 10 cases, 3 cases of which were type Ⅱ fracture, and 7 cases type Ⅲ fracture. Complications included wound dehiscence in 1 case; infection in 4 cases, 2 of which with open fracture were superficial infection, and 2 cases with closed fracture were deep infection; posttraumatic arthritis of the ankle joint in 9 cases; and severe varus deformity in 2 cases.11 cases suffered from ankle stiffness. Conclusion Discouraged results of pilon fractures are significantly related to fracture type, reduction status and time of operation, reduction and fixation of fibular fracture, and bone grafting.

Objective:To compare the effect of posterolateral plate and anterolateral locking plate in surgical treatment for extra-articular distal humeral shaft fractures.Methods:A retrospective case-control study was made on 52 patients with extra-articular distal humeral shaft fractures admitted in Tianjin Hospital from January 2014 to October 2016. There were 32 males and 20 females, with the age from 18 to 56 years [(36.9±10.9)years]. According to the AO/OTA classification, there were 15 patients with type A, 32 type B, and 5 type C. Twenty-three patients were treated with osterolateral locking plate (Group A) and 29 with anterolateral locking plate (Group B). Operation time, bone union time, range of motion of the elbow, Mayo elbow performance score and complication rate were evaluated.Results:All patients were followed up for 12-20 months [(13.7±2.2)months]. Operation time was (79.8±9.6)minutes in Group A and (85.0±11.6)minutes in Group B ( P>0.05). Bone union time was (4.1±1.0)months in Group A and (4.1±1.0)months in Group B ( P>0.05). Degrees of elbow extension was 3.9°(0.0°, 5.0°) in Group A, and 4.4°(0.0°, 5.0°) in Group B ( P>0.05). Degrees of elbow flexion was 127.4°(125.0°, 132.50°) in Group A and 128.5°(122.5°, 132.5°) in Group B ( P>0.05). Mayo elbow performance score was 91.0 (90.0, 93.5) points in Group A and 90.2 (90.0, 92.5)points in Group B ( P>0.05). Radial nerve damage was noted after operation, showing no significant difference between two groups [2 patients (9%) in Group A and 3 patients (10%) in Group B] ( P>0.05), and the symptoms were recovered in all patients within 3 months. Conclusions:Both the posterolateral and anterolateral locking plate are effective in surgical treatment for extra-articular distal humeral shaft fractures. However, the posterolateral plate can be placed closer to the distal end of the humerus and the multi-directional locking design is more stable, which has advantages for the patient with fracture line close to the elbow joint.