Prospective Study of Surgical Management of Distal Tibial Fractures inAdults

Abstract

The incidence of tibial shaft fracture that too distal end fracture is on the rise due to increased rate of road traffic accident by two-wheeler users, specially due to the traffic scenario in cities of our country. High speed vehicles, bad roads and rapid industrialization has further compounded the problems. In this prospective study, we studied 20 patients that suffered a distal tibial fracture. They were managed by intramedullary nailing with or without fixation of the fibula. Results were based on radiological and functional outcomes categorized by excellent, good, fair and poor. We evaluated the rate of fracture union and post-operative complications. 65% of the patients had an excellent outcome, 25% had good, 5 had fair and 5 had a poor outcome. 6 patients suffered complication. The average time to union was 15 weeks. Our study concluded the excellent outcomes that could achieved by intramedullary nail with the distal locking screw.