Management of Open Fracture

Open fractures are common and their prevalence is increasing in elderly people. The burden of open fractures is high because of economic and social costs. Most open fractures occur in lower limbs. The use of validated protocols, will optimize our outcomes when treating open fractures. The first step began with the proper identification of the fracture characteristics and the hidden soft tissue injury. The use of an adequate and early antibiotic prophylaxis is mandatory and then, we have to perform adequate irrigation and debridement. Finally, we have to decide to temporally fix the fracture or proceed with the definitive fixation method. Recently, the creation of dedicated “orthoplastic” units has increased the outcomes in high-energy tibial fractures. These fractures should be managed in adequate trauma centers that should be used to face all the complications that will appear during the reconstruction procedure because complications can be as high as 50% in high-energy open fractures