This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.

Biodegradable implants produce good bimalleolar fracture fixation outcomes

Add topic to email alerts

Receive an email when new articles are posted on

Please provide your email address to receive an email when new articles are posted on .

Subscribe

Added to email alerts

You've successfully added to your alerts. You will receive an email when new content is published.

Click Here to Manage Email Alerts

You've successfully added to your alerts. You will receive an email when new content is published.

Click Here to Manage Email Alerts

Back to Healio

We were unable to process your request. Please try again later. If you continue to have this issue please contact customerservice@slackinc.com.

Back to Healio

Biodegradable implants used to fix bimalleolar fractures decreased the need for postoperative implant removal, researchers at the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research in Punjab, India, concluded.

“Biodegradable plates and screws, when used to fix bimalleolar fracture along with restricted weight bearing, provide satisfactory fracture healing, good functional results and reduce the need of implant removal,” the authors wrote in the study abstract.

To analyze outcomes with biodegradable implants used in patients with bimalleolar fractures, researchers at the institute prospectively studied 16 patients with unilateral bimalleolar fractures between July 2006 and November 2008. They fixed fibula fractures with biodegradable plates and medial malleoli fractures with screws, following up patients at 2 weeks and 6 weeks and at 3, 6, 12 and 18 months.

The investigators assessed patients with the Olerud Molander ankle score and found no poor outcomes.There were six patients with excellent results, four patients with good results and six patients with fair outcomes, based on the findings.

One complication was identified in the series — a patient with pain and swelling for 14 weeks postoperatively — and the patients was treated with debridement and antibiotics. However, surgeons did not need to remove implants in this or any other patient studied.

“Biodegradable devices have been developed to overcome the disadvantages of metallic implants, especially the need for their subsequent removal, though they have their own drawbacks like poor mechanical properties and tissue reactions,” the authors wrote.

Reference:

Rangdal S, Singh D, Joshi N, et al. Functional outcome of ankle fracture patients treated with biodegradable implants. Foot Ankle Surg. 2012;18(3):153-156.