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PurposeDistal femoral fracture is one of the most common lower limb injuries and accounts for less than 1% of all fractures. Open fracture takes 5%–10% of the all distal femoral fractures, which is at an increased risk of complications. There were limited studies which documented the outcomes of such cases. The present study aims to evaluate the outcome and complications in these fractures using primary definitive fixation with condylar locking plate and antibiotic impregnated collagen sheet secondary to aggressive debridement.MethodsThis is a prospective study conducted in a tertiary care orthopaedic hospital in northern India. Thirty patients of open distal femoral fractures were managed by primary definitive fixation with condylar locking plate and antibiotic impregnated collagen sheet secondary to aggressive debridement. They were followed for minimum of six months. Patients were followed up monthly for first four months, at six months and one year after surgery. Clinical and radiological signs of healing, any complications, time to union, and functional outcome were assessed.ResultsThe mean age of patients was 44.33 years (range 20–82 years) with male predominance of 66.7%. According to Gustilo-Anderson classification, there were 5, 15 and 10 patients with open grade I, II and IIIA distal femoral fractures respectively. According to orthopaedic trauma association (OTA) classification, majority of patients in our study were of C3 type. The mean time to bony union was 5.6 months (range 4–9 months). Average postoperative knee range of motion (ROM) at the latest follow-up was 98⁰ (range 70⁰-120⁰). Lysholm knee scoring scale showed excellent score in 11 patients, good in 9 patients, fair and poor in 5 patients each; however, there was no significant correlation with fracture pattern types (p < 0.05). Knee stiffness was the major complications encountered in the study. The knee ROM was <90⁰ in 5 patients and 90⁰-120⁰ in rest of the patients, while 1 patient had extensor lag of 10⁰. One patient had implant failure and lost to follow-up; 3 patients had deep infection.ConclusionAn approach of primary definitive fixation with condylar locking plate and antibiotic impregnated collagen sheet secondary to early aggressive debridement in open distal femur fractures shows significant results in terms of functional and radiological outcomes with minimal complications.

The aim of our study was to evaluate the role of medial opening wedge high tibial osteotomy (MOWHTO) in medial unicompartmental osteoarthritis of the knee and compare two different fixation devices for stability, duration, outcome, and complications. Methods: Fifty-seven patients (60 knees) of age < 60 yrs and either sex with medial unicompartmental osteoarthritis of the knee were divided into 2 groups. Twenty-four patients (25 knees) in Group I underwent MOWHTO using fixator-cum-distractor and 33 patients (35 knees) in Group II underwent MOWHTO using locking plate osteosynthesis. The results were assessed by VAS, KOOS and WOMAC score. Results: Mean age of the patients in Group I was 53.13 ± 5.20 years and 51.32 ± 6.91 years in Group II. Mean preoperative varus deviation was 11.97 ± 3.34 in Group I and 11.78 ± 3.05 in Group II which was corrected to 3.27 ± 1.75 and 3.56 ± 1.47 valgus respectively. All the patients achieved full weight bearing by 35th day postoperatively in Group I with the mean of 30.27 ± 2.71 days and 38th day in Group II with the mean of 30.32 ± 3.08. The VAS, KOOS, and WOMAC score improved significantly postoperatively in both the groups. Conclusion:The difference between the two methods of fixation was statistically insignificant. Fixatorcum-distractor is minimally invasive giving good control over the final limb alignment; however, it is cumbersome with less patient compliance and has complications like pin tract infection. Locking plate provides better fixation stability than fixator-cum-distractor even without bone grafting; however, it is an invasive procedure requiring more soft tissue exposure and precise amount of wedge removal.