Arthroscopic minimally invasive reduction for talus posterior process fractures / 中华创伤骨科杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To evaluate the efficacy of arthroscopic minimally invasive reduction in the treatment of talus posterior process fractures.Methods:The clinical data were retrospectively studied of the 42 patients with talus posterior process fracture who had been admitted to Department of Orthopedics, The Fourth Hospital of Wuhan from January 2010 to June 2021. There were 25 males and 17 females, aged from 21 to 60 years (average, 40.5 years). They were assigned into 2 groups according to their different treatments. In the arthroscopic group of 15 cases, arthroscopic reduction and internal fixation (ARIF) were conducted via the posteromedial and posterolateral approaches; in the open reduction group of 27 cases, open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF) were conducted via the posteromedial para-Achilles approach. The 2 groups were compared in terms of operation time, blood loss, hospital stay, fracture clinical healing time, postoperative complications, and the American Society for Foot and Ankle Surgery (AOFAS) ankle-hindfoot score at one year postoperation.Results:There was no significant difference in the preoperative general data between the 2 groups, showing comparability ( P> 0.05). The arthroscopic group incurred significantly less blood loss [(32.0±11.5) mL], hospital stay [(5.3±1.8) d], and fracture clinical healing time [(4.6±1.0) months], and a significantly lower incidence of postoperative complications [20.0% (3/15)] than the open reduction group did [(80.0±15.2) mL, (8.4±2.4) d, (6.3±2.2) months, and 29.6% (8/27)], but significantly longer operation time [(74.0±8.9) min] than the open reduction group [(62.9±5.1) min] ( P<0.05). The AOFAS ankle-hindfoot scores at one year postoperation in both groups were higher than those before operation. The AOFAS ankle-hindfoot scores in the arthroscopic group [(83.0±13.0) points] were significantly higher than those in the open reduction group [(72.3±16.0) points] ( P<0.05). Conclusion:ARIF is a preferred minimally invasive treatment for talus posterior process fractures, because it leads to a smaller incision, less blood loss, shorter hospital stay, quicker clinical healing, a lower incidence of postoperative complications, and better functional improvement of the ankle and hindfoot than ORIF.