Background:Ankle arthrodesis has long been the traditional operative treatment for posttraumatic arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, infection, neuromuscular conditions, and salvage of failed ankle arthroplasty. It remains the treatment of choice for patients in whom heavy and prolonged activity is anticipated. We present our short term followup study of functional outcome of patients who underwent transfibular ankle arthrodesis for arthritis of ankle due to various indications.Materials and Methods:29 transfibular ankle arthrodesis in 29 patients performed between April 2009 and April 2014 were included in this study. The mean age was 50 years (range 22-75 years). The outcome analysis with a minimum of 1-year postoperative followup were included. All the patients were assessed with the American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) Hindfoot scale.Results:All cases of ankle fusions (100%) progressed to solid union in a mean postoperative duration of 3.8 months (range 3–6 months). All patients had sound arthrodesis. The mean followup period was 32.52 months (standard deviation ± 10.34). The mean AOFAS score was 74 (pain score = 32, functional score = 42). We found that twenty patients (68.96%) out of 29, had excellent results, 7 (24.13%) had good, and 2 (6.89%) showed fair results.Conclusion:Transfibular ankle arthrodesis is a simple and effective procedure for ankle arthritis. It achieves a high rate of union and good functional outcome on midterm followup.

Background:Isolated tibial shaft (ITS) fracture with intact fibula is a common injury but records often fail to mention it. Our primary aim was to study the effect of the intact fibula in ITS fractures in closed and open injuries and that these fractures can unite without a primary fibulectomy.Materials and Methods:56 patients who sustained an ITS fracture with an intact fibula who underwent closed or open reduction and reamed intramedullary interlocking nailing (IM IL nail) for closed and open fractures between August 2008 and April 2014 were included in this study. Four patients were lost to followup. One patient died due to causes not related to the surgery. At the time of final followup, 51 patients with 51 ITS fractures were available for the analysis. There were 33 closed and 18 open fractures. Patients were followed up at 4 weekly intervals until radiological signs of union were noted. They were assessed for functional outcome using the IOWA knee and ankle score systems at the time of final followup.Results:The average time to union was 19.7 weeks. Closed fractures united in 17.7 weeks as compared to 23.5 weeks for open fractures (P < 0.05). A delay in union occurred in 6 patients (4 open) and in 3 patients fractures failed to unite (2 open). The functional outcome as per the knee score and ankle score evaluation system was 93.13 and 92.54, respectively. The knee scores were 93.81 and 91.8 for closed and open ITS fractures, respectively (P > 0.05). Similarly, the ankle scores were 94.96 and 88.1 for closed and open ITS fractures, respectively (P < 0.05).Conclusion:ITS fracture with intact fibula is a common occurrence, and they can be treated safely with reamed IM nailing that provides good union rates and the excellent functional result even in open fractures.

BackgroundBony ankylosis of elbow is challenging and difficult problem to treat. The options are excision arthroplasty and total elbow replacement. We report our midterm results on nine patients, who underwent inverted 'V' osteotomy excision arthroplasty in our hospital with good functional results.MaterialsOur case series includes 9 patients (seven males and two females) with the mean age of 34 years (13-56 years). Five patients had trauma, two had pyogenic arthritis, one had tuberculous arthritis, and one had pyogenic arthritis following surgical fixation.ResultsThe average duration of follow up is 65 months (45 months-80 months). The mean Mayo's elbow performance score (MEPS) preoperatively was 48 (35-70). The MEPS at final follow up was 80 (60-95). With no movement at elbow and fixed in various degrees of either flexion or extension preoperatively, the mean preoperative position of elbow was 64°(30°to 100°). The mean post operative range of motion at final follow up was 27°of extension (20-500), 116°of flexion (1100-1300), and the arc of motion was 88°(800-1000). One patient had ulnar nerve neuropraxia and another patient developed median nerve neuropraxia, and both recovered completely in six weeks. No patient had symptomatic instability of the elbow. All patients were asymptomatic except one patient, who had pain mainly on heavy activities.ConclusionWe conclude that inverted 'V' osteotomy excision arthroplasty is a viable option in the treatment of bony ankylosis of the elbow in young patients.

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