Proximal tibia fracture dislocations: Management and outcomes of a severe and under-recognized injury.

INTRODUCTION: Proximal tibia fracture dislocations (PTFDs) are a subset of plateau fractures with little in the literature since description by Hohl (1967) and classification by Moore (1981). We sought to evaluate reliability in diagnosis of fracture-dislocations by traumatologists and to compare their outcomes with bicondylar tibial plateau fractures (BTPFs). METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort study at 14 level 1 trauma centers throughout North America. In all, 4771 proximal tibia fractures were reviewed by all sites and 278 possible PTFDs were identified using the Moore classification. These were reviewed by an adjudication board of three traumatologists to obtain consensus. Outcomes included inter-rater reliability of PTFD diagnosis, wound complications, malunion, range of motion (ROM), and knee pain limiting function. These were compared to BTPF data from a previous study. RESULTS: Of 278 submitted cases, 187 were deemed PTFDs representing 4% of all proximal tibia fractures reviewed and 67% of those submitted. Inter-rater agreement by the adjudication board was good (83%). Sixty-one PTFDs (33%) were unicondylar. Eleven (6%) had ligamentous repair and 72 (39%) had meniscal repair. Two required vascular repair. Infection was more common among PTFDs than BTPFs (14% vs 9%, p = 0.038). Malunion occurred in 25% of PTFDs. ROM was worse among PTFDs, although likely not clinically significant. Knee pain limited function at final follow-up in 24% of both cohorts. CONCLUSIONS: PTFDs represent 4% of proximal tibia fractures. They are often unicondylar and may go unrecognized. Malunion is common, and PTFD outcomes may be worse than bicondylar fractures.

Peri-implant fractures of the upper and lower extremities: a case series of 61 fractures.

PURPOSE: To assess outcomes for patients who sustained peri-implant fractures (PIFs). METHODS: Medical records of patients who sustained a PIF were reviewed for demographic, injury, outcome, and radiographic data. PIFs were classified using a reproducible system and stratified into cohorts based on fracture location. Clinical outcomes were evaluated for each cohort. RESULTS: Fifty-six patients with 61 PIFs with at least 6 months of follow-up were included. The mean age of the cohort was 60.4 ± 19.5 years. Twenty-two (36.1%) PIFs occurred in males, while 39 (63.9%) occurred in females. Fifty-two (85.2%) PIFs were sustained from a low-energy injury mechanism. PIFs were most often treated with plate/screw constructs (50.8%). Complications included: 6 (9.8%) nonunions, 5 of which were successfully treated to healing, 5 (8.2%) fracture related infections (FRI), and 1 (1.6%) hardware failure. Sixty (98.4%) PIFs ultimately demonstrated radiographic healing. CONCLUSION: PIFs are usually treated surgically and have a relatively high incidence of complications, with nonunion in femoral PIFs being the greatest. Despite this, the rate of ultimate healing is quite high.