Management

Definition

 

Tibial facture with break in skin

- open wound communicating with fracture or haematoma

 

Patient is immediately at higher risk of deep infection

 

Diagnosis

 

Wound continuously oozes dark red fracture haematoma

 

Epidemiology

 

Up to 1/4 of tibia fractures open

 

Gustilo and Anderson Classification

 

Type 1

- wound < 1cm

- usually inside out

- minimal muscle contusion

 

Type 2

- skin laceration 1-10 cm

 

Compound Tibial Fracture Grade 2 Clinical Photo

 

Type 3a

- > 10 cm wound, able to be closed primarily

 

Type 3b

- require skin graft procedure for coverage

 

Compound TibiaCompound Tibia

 

Grade 3c

- vascular injury requiring repair

 

Management

 

Immediate / ED Management

 

EMST / ATLS

- assess and manage entire patient

Assess neurovascular status

Assess wound

- size / site / contamination

- photos very useful to show plastic surgeons

- will it close primarily / will it need plastic surgery

Appropriate Antibiotics

- as per Gustilo Classification

ADT

Wound management

- irrigation

- betadine dressing

Stabilise fracture

- POP

Wound Debridement < 6 hours

 

Surgical timing

 

Prodromidis et al. J Orthop Trauma 2016

- meta-analysis of 7 studies looking at early (<6 hours) v late (> 6 hours) surgical debridement

- no difference in deep infection or nonunion rates

- suggest that delay when necessary can be appropriate

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26978135/

 

Surgical Technique

 

Extend wound

- debride contaminated tisue

- 1 mm skin edge excision

- debride subcutaneous tissue 

- deliver and debride bone ends

 

Assess muscle by 4C's

- Colour

- Consistency

- Contractility

- Capacity to Bleed

 

Bone

- remove avascular fragments unless very large or critically important

- avascular bone in continuity with vascularized bone can be kept

 

Washout

- pulse lavage to decrease bacterial contamination

- 9 litres

- photos

 

Wound management

- close if able without soft tissue tension and clean

- if needs SSG / muscle flap / free flap

- alert plastics immediately

- needs closure within 5 days for good outcome

 

Skeletal Stabilization

 

A.  Cast

- increased non and mal union in cast groups

 

B.  Temporary unilateral external fixator

 

Indications

 

1.  Vascular repair

- apply swiftly

- place out of way of vascular repair approach

 

2.  Highly contaminated wound

- inappropriate for metal work

- multiple debridements / skin closure

- eliminate infection

- delayed  definitive management

 

3.  Multiple injuries patient / Damage control orthopedics

- temporary external fixator

- convert to nail day 5

 

A.  External fixator for tibial midshaft

 

Vumedi

https://www.vumedi.com/video/tibial-ao-external-fixeter-application/

 

C.  Tibial nail

 

Indications

- fracture configuration suitable for nailing

 

Reaming

- of benefit in closed fractures

- may be no difference in open fractures

- as the ST injury worsens the benefits of reaming decreases

 

Swiontkowski JBJS Am 2008

- SPRINT trial

- no difference in outcome in compound fractures between reamed and unreamed nails

 

Bhandari et al JBJS Br 2001

- systemic review of treatment for open tibial fractures

- compared unreamed nails and external fixators

- unreamed nails decreased reoperations / superficial infections / malunions

 

D.  Ilizarov frame

 

Indication

- bone defects which will need addressing

 

Soft Tissue Envelope

 

Godina Yugoslavia 1986

- 532 patients free flaps

 

Gp 1 -  within 72hrs

Gp 2  - 72hrs - 3/12

Gp 3  - 3/12 - 12.6yrs (average 3.4 years)

 

  Flap Failure Infection Union
Group 1 0.75% 1.5% 7 months
Group 2 12% 17.5% 12 months
Group 3 9.5% 6% 29 months

Management of Soft Tissue

 

Definitive coverage within 7 days

 

Type 1, 2, 3a close with DPC

 

Type 3b

- 94% will require plastics

- 71% require flap cover

 

Skin Cover Options (see separate article)

- SSG if muscle present over wound

- proximal third gastrocneumius local muscle flap

- middle third soleus muscle local flap

- distal third / gastrocneumius or soleus damaged - free gracilis muscle flap

 

Management Bone defects

 

Priniciple is to decrease dead space

 

ABx beads

- may decrease infection from 16% to 4% (OTA)

- prevent haematoma and scar

- can place flap over top

 

Can place segmental Abx cement

- new French technique

- at 6/52 there is a periosteal sleeve about the cement

- aids in bone grafting techniques

 

Delayed bone reconstruction options

- see Complications / Segmental Bone Loss

 

Union Rates

 

Court-Brown JBJS 1991

 

Type 1

- good union rates

 

Type 2, 3a

- high union rates but slower

- 6 - 7 months to unite

- deep infection 3.5%

 

Type 3b

- union time 1 year

- infection rates 17-23%

- not affected by reaming

- not affected by nail v external fixator

- very dependent on ST coverage

 

Court-Brown

- a lot of effort has gone into assessing the mechanics of fracture management

- it is the treatment of ST that governs prognosis

 

Indications for Amputation

 

Absolute indications (Lange) with arterial injury

1.  Crush injury with warm ischaemia > 6 hours

2.  Anatomic division of the tibial nerve

 

Scoring Systems

- MESS

- NISSA (nerve, ischaemia, shock, soft tissue, age)

- shown not to be predictive

 

Leap Study

- plantar parasthesia non predictive of outcome

- doesn't predict function of tibial nerve

- many will recover over time

 

See Principles of Trauma / Amputation

 

Ng et al, Arch Orthop Trauma Surg 2023

- Meta-analysis of 645 patients with Gustilo IIIB/C tibia fractures

- Primary amputation had fewer complications (RR = 0.21), infections (RR = 0.46) and total number of operations (-4.17), and ambulated earlier

- Functional outcomes similar

 

Complications

 

Non-union

 

No progression of union over 3/12

Rule out infection

 

Options

1.  Dynamise

2.  Exchange nail

3.  Bone Graft

4.  Fib Osteotomy

5.  Ring fixator

 

Deep Infection

 

Options

 

1.  Reamed exchange nail

 

2.  Excision dead bone and necrotic tissue / Ilizarov frame

- elimination dead space

- ST coverage

- appropriate Abx

- delayed bone grafting