Abstract
Background and aim:
Tibial fractures are the most common long bone fractures, with around 25% open fractures. The majority of open tibial fractures result from high velocity trauma. The management of these fractures can be complex due to the relative lack of soft tissue coverage and blood supply of the tibial shaft ,The aim of this study to evaluate the short-term results of tibial nailing in the open tibial fractures.
Patients and methods:
This study included 20 patients admitted to Zagazig University Hospitals with open tibial fractures of different causes and classified according to Gastilo and Anderson classification and (OTA) ,Written informed consent was obtained from all participants and study was approved by research ethical committee of Faculty of Medicine, Zagazig University. The work has carried out in accordance with The Code 4385 of Ethics of the World Medical Association (Declaration of Helsinki) for studies involving humans.
Results:
In our results, overall mean time to union was 5.47 months.Steinberg et al. studied 25 patients of open tibial fracture with average union time of 15.4 weeks . In our series we had average time to union of 7 months and a 10% incidence of infections. These results suggest that the nailing in open fractures of the tibia has faster union rates and lower rates of infection.
Conclusions:The treatment of open tibial shaft fracture has evolved over the last two decades. Improved wound care, newer generation antibiotic and better metallurgy for the implants have contributed to this change.