Indications and postoperative complications of tibial Illizarov’s technique in a tertiary care center, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Background: Circular external fixation including Ilizarov method is a well-established technique often practiced in orthopedic surgery. The goal of this procedures is to lengthen extremity bones, reconstruct severely injured or fractured bone trauma, correct congenital bone deformities, treat infected bones and to treat pseudarthrosis. The importance of this study is that it will highlight the most common complications for this procedure in order to reverse them and have a better clinical outcome. The aim of this study is to assess the indications and postoperative complication rates following tibial circular external by Illizarov's method. Methods: We performed a consecutive case series, chart review study of 33 patients who were treated with the Ilizarov method, between 2010 and 2016. All patients who underwent tibial circular external fixators using Ilizarov method were selected for this study. There were 25 males and 8 females, mean age was 31.06 (range 14 -71). All data collected was coded in Excel sheet. SPSS package version 20 was used for data analysis. Results: The total number of subjects involved in this study was 33 subjects (Male: 25[75%]-Female: 8[25%]). The average age of the subjects was 31.06 (range 14 -71) with a standard deviation of +/-13.8. Overall, 63.6% of patients reported post-op complications. Whereas 36.3% of patients were free of complications. The main complication was pain which was reported in 15% of the subjects. Conclusion: There was a minimal complication rate associated with this technique in our institution compared to published studies. Several medical conditions were the indication for this procedure, primarily motor vehicle accidents deformities.