A morphological review of medial malleolar fractures - A large single centre series.

BackgroundMany approaches to management of medial malleolar fractures are described in the literature however, their morphology is under investigated. The aim of this study was to analyse the morphology of medial malleolar fractures to identify any association with medial malleolar fracture non-union or malunion.MethodsPatients who had undergone surgical fixation of their MMF were identified from 2012 to 2022, using electronic patient records. Retrospective analysis of their preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative radiographs was performed to determine their morphology and prevalence of non-union and malunion. Lauge-Hansen classification was used to characterise ankle fracture morphology and Herscovici classification to characterise MMF morphology.ResultsA total of 650 patients were identified across a 10-year period which could be included in the study. The overall non-union rate for our cohort was 18.77% (122/650). The overall malunion rate was 6.92% (45/650). Herscovici type A fractures were significantly more frequently mal-reduced at time of surgery as compared to other fracture types (p = .003). Medial wall blowout combined with Hercovici type B fractures showed a significant increase in malunion rate. There is a higher rate of bone union in patients who had been anatomically reduced.ConclusionThe morphology of medial malleolar fractures does have an impact of the radiological outcome following surgical management. Medial wall blowout fractures were most prevalent in adduction-type injuries; however, it should not be ruled out in rotational injuries with medial wall blowouts combined with and Herscovici type B fractures showing a significant increase in malunions. Herscovici type A fractures had significantly higher malreductions.Level of evidenceLevel 3 - Retrospective Cohort Study

A Retrospective Comparison of Single Screw vs Dual Screw Fixation for Treatment of Medial Malleolus Fractures

Category: Trauma; Ankle Introduction/Purpose: Medial Malleolus Fractures (MMF) are frequently managed by orthopaedic surgeons and are one of the most treated fractures of the ankle. Many approaches to fixation are described in the literature. Currently, there is a lack of consensus on the number of screws used in fixation when attempting lag-screw fixation of MMF. Aim: To compare the outcomes of MMF with patients between fractures which have either undergone single-screw (SS) or dual-screw (DS) fixation. Methods: Patients who had undergone surgical fixation of their MMF were identified from 2012 to 2022, using electronic patient records. Analysis of their pre-operative, intra-operative and post-operative radiographs was performed to determine the initial type of injury and then surgical outcomes relating to non-union, malunion and whether revision surgery was required. Results: A total of 653 patients were identified across a 10-year period. There were 271 patients (41.50%) in the SS group and 382 patients in the DS group (58.50%). When comparing the outcomes of SS compared to DS, a non-union rate of 19.19% (52/271) was found in the SS group as compared to 18.85% (72/382) in the DS group. There was a malunion rate of 11.07% (30/271) in the SS group as compared to 3.93% (15/382) in the DS group, which was statistically significant (p <.001). On multi regression analysis, the other factors which gained significance for development of non-union was non fixation of syndesmosis (p= .039), ankle dislocation on arrival (p <.001) and non-restoration of fibular length (p <.001). Conclusion: Use of a single screw rather than double screw showed a significant increase in non-anatomical reduction but did not increase non-union or reoperation rate. Syndesmosis fixation has clear impact on the stresses on the medial malleolus and should have a low index of suspicion of injury and fixation