Ipsilateral vascularised fibula with external locking plate for treatment of massive tibial bone defects

Massive bone defects can result from trauma, infection, and tumour resection [1 –5]. When a bone defect is larger than 6 cm, or when there is infected non-union, specialised techniques such as the Masquelet technique, distraction osteogenesis, and vascularised bone grafting become essential [1–7]. The vascularised fibular graft is most commonly used to manage bone defects l arger than 10 cm or smaller defects that have failed to heal with non-vascularised bone grafting [3,8]. Ipsilateral vascularised fibula could provide good biomechanical stability for the site of massive tibial defects without requiring microvascular anastomosis or considerable dissection of the bone and soft tissues [1,4,5]; however, it is difficult to apply an internal fixator to stabilise a tibial injury with severe soft-tissue compromise.

Source: Injury - February 17, 2021 Category: Orthopaedics Authors: Ching-Hou Ma, Yen-Chun Chiu, Chin-Hsien Wu, Kun-Ling Tsai, Tsung-Kai Wen, Yuan-Kun Tu Source Type: research