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Original Article
Surgical Fixation with Biodegradable Plate for the Treatment of Ankle Fractures
Jae-Young Cho, M.D., Jin-Whan Kim, M.D., Sang-Eun Kim, M.D., Kyung-Chil Jung, M.D., Seung-Hyun Choi, M.D.
Journal of the Korean Fracture Society 2008;21(1):31-36.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.12671/jkfs.2008.21.1.31
Published online: January 31, 2008

Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Good Samsun Hospital, Busan, Korea.

*Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Goopo Sungsim Hospital, Busan, Korea.

Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Pusan Paik Hospital, Busan, Korea.

Address reprint requests to: Jin-Whan Kim, M.D. Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Good Samsun Hospital, 193-5, Jurye-dong, Sasang-gu, Busan 617-718, Korea. Tel: 82-51-322-0900, Fax: 82-51-310-9348, gyennim@yahoo.co.kr

Copyright © 2008 The Korean Fracture Society. All rights reserved.

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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  • Purpose
    The purpose of this article is to show the efficacy of a biodegradable plate for treating lateral malleolar fractures in the ankle joint.
  • Materials and Methods
    The 20 patients who underwent an open reduction and internal fixation for lateral malleolar fractures in the ankle joint from February, 2006 to February, 2007 in our hospital were enrolled into the study. The average age of the patients was 49.7 years and the average follow-up period was 5.6 months. The cases were analyzed by radiological bone union time and clinical results according to the criteria of Meyer et al.
  • Results
    Average radiological bone union time was 10.5 weeks. The clinical result was excellent in 19 cases (95%), good in 1 case (5%). There was one case of minimal displacement less than 1 mm, associated with anterior distal tibio-fibular ligament avulsion fracture.
  • Conclusion
    For proper patients, a biodegradable plate is an effecttive alternative implant for stabilizing lateral malleolar fractures in the ankle joint, because there is no requirement for subsequent removal and slow resorption in vivo.
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Fig. 1

Photographs of biodegradable plate and screw and surgical steps.

(A) 6 hole biodegradable plate and bicortical screw.
(B) The plate is heated in the water bath for at least 1 minute and most malleable for 10 seconds after heating.
(C) The plate can be contoured to the bone by using finger pressure. Bicortical screws are fixed through the plate.
jkfs-21-31-g001.jpg
Fig. 2

(A) A 55-year-old woman had lateral malleolar fracture and deltoid ligament injury of the ankle joint.

(B) The lateral malleolar fracture was fixed with biodegradable plate and bicortical screw.
(C) At postoperative 12 weeks, the radiographs show the radiological bone union.
jkfs-21-31-g002.jpg
Fig. 3

(A) A 48-year-old woman had a trimalleolar fracture of the ankle joint.

(B) The lateral malleolar fracture was fixed with biodegradable plate and bicortical screws, and medial malleolar fragment with biodegradable screw and K-wire.
(C) At postoperative 15 weeks, the radiographs show the radiological bone union.
jkfs-21-31-g003.jpg
Fig. 4

(A) Initial radiographs & CT of a 62-year-old woman show anterior tibio-fibular ligament avulsion fracture in lateral malleolar fracture.

(B) The lateral malleolar fracture was fixed with biodegradable plate and bicortical screws, and avulsion fragment of anterior tibio-fibular ligament with biodegradable screw.
(C) At postoperative 8 weeks, the radiographs show the minimal displacement less than 1 mm.
jkfs-21-31-g004.jpg
Table 1

Summary of cases

jkfs-21-31-i001.jpg

SER: Supination-external rotation.

Table 2

Criteria used in assessment of the result (Meyer)

jkfs-21-31-i002.jpg

Figure & Data

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    • Delayed Foreign-body Reaction of Ankle Fracture Treated with a Biodegradable Plate and Screws - A Case Report -
      Chul-Hyun Park, Dae-Hyun Song, Jae Ho Cho
      Journal of the Korean Fracture Society.2012; 25(2): 142.     CrossRef

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      Surgical Fixation with Biodegradable Plate for the Treatment of Ankle Fractures
      J Korean Fract Soc. 2008;21(1):31-36.   Published online January 31, 2008
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    Surgical Fixation with Biodegradable Plate for the Treatment of Ankle Fractures
    Image Image Image Image
    Fig. 1 Photographs of biodegradable plate and screw and surgical steps. (A) 6 hole biodegradable plate and bicortical screw. (B) The plate is heated in the water bath for at least 1 minute and most malleable for 10 seconds after heating. (C) The plate can be contoured to the bone by using finger pressure. Bicortical screws are fixed through the plate.
    Fig. 2 (A) A 55-year-old woman had lateral malleolar fracture and deltoid ligament injury of the ankle joint. (B) The lateral malleolar fracture was fixed with biodegradable plate and bicortical screw. (C) At postoperative 12 weeks, the radiographs show the radiological bone union.
    Fig. 3 (A) A 48-year-old woman had a trimalleolar fracture of the ankle joint. (B) The lateral malleolar fracture was fixed with biodegradable plate and bicortical screws, and medial malleolar fragment with biodegradable screw and K-wire. (C) At postoperative 15 weeks, the radiographs show the radiological bone union.
    Fig. 4 (A) Initial radiographs & CT of a 62-year-old woman show anterior tibio-fibular ligament avulsion fracture in lateral malleolar fracture. (B) The lateral malleolar fracture was fixed with biodegradable plate and bicortical screws, and avulsion fragment of anterior tibio-fibular ligament with biodegradable screw. (C) At postoperative 8 weeks, the radiographs show the minimal displacement less than 1 mm.
    Surgical Fixation with Biodegradable Plate for the Treatment of Ankle Fractures

    Summary of cases

    SER: Supination-external rotation.

    Criteria used in assessment of the result (Meyer)

    Table 1 Summary of cases

    SER: Supination-external rotation.

    Table 2 Criteria used in assessment of the result (Meyer)


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