Intra-articular calcaneal fractures

In this retrospective evaluation the authors present the group of patients with intraarticular calcaneal fractures that were treated from an extended lateral approach. In the period from 2001 to 2003, 32 patients with intra-articular calcaneal fractures were treated by osteosynthesis, using a plate, from the extended lateral approach. All patients were men at an average age of 41.7 years (range, 20 to 63 years). The most frequent cause of injury was a fall from height. A combined injury was recorded in eight patients. The right calcaneus was broken in 11 and the left one in 21 patients. Patients with bilateral calcaneal fractures were not included in the evaluation. Preoperative X-ray and CT examinations of the fractured calcaneus were carried out in all patients. The Sanders classification of calcaneal fractures was used for fracture evaluation. All patients were treated from the extended lateral approach by osteosynthesis with the use of a plate. Spongioplasty using an autologous graft from the iliac crest or an allogenous graft was carried out in 21 and 11 patients, respectively. The patients were operated on within an average of 7.3 days of admission (1 to 16 days), and were followed up for at least one year (average, 30 months) after surgery. Postoperative evaluation was based on radiographs and the results of the Kerr rating system obtained from questionnaires. The outcomes were excellent, 36 %; very good, 44 %; good, 17 %; and poor, 3 %. The Böhler angle postoperatively assessed on radiographs was on average + 28.5 degrees. All patients showed bone union, and no pseudoarthrosis was recorded. One patient had to be treated for a late purulent complication requiring metal removal. One patient underwent early wound revision due to postoperative hematoma. The metal was removed on average at 13 months postoperatively (range, 2.5 to 26 months). The treatment of intra-articular calcaneal fractures is determined by the type of injury, state of soft issues in the limb injured, patient's status and surgeon's experience. Our results as well as literature data show that exact reduction of the posterior subtalar joint with internal osteosynthesis can achieve good clinical outcomes in patients with intraarticular calcaneal fractures, particularly when the fractures are classified as Sanders II and III types.