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Background and purpose — In recent years motorized intramedullary lengthening nails have become increasingly popular. Complications are heterogeneously reported in small case series and therefore we made a systematic review of complications occurring in lower limb lengthening with externally controlled motorized intramedullary bone lengthening nails. Methods — We performed a systematic search in PubMed, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library with medical subject headings: Bone Nails, Bone Lengthening, and PRECICE and FITBONE nails. Complications were graded on severity and origin. Results — The search identified 952 articles; 116 were full text screened, and 41 were included in the final analysis. 983 segments were lengthened in 782 patients (age 8–74 years). The distribution of nails was: 214 FITBONE, 747 PRECICE, 22 either FITBONE or PRECICE. Indications for lengthening were: 208 congenital shortening, 305 acquired limb shortening, 111 short stature, 158 with unidentified etiology. We identified 332 complications (34% of segments): Type I (minimal intervention) in 11% of segments; Type II (substantial change in treatment plan) in 15% of segments; Type IIIA (failure to achieve goal) in 5% of segments; and Type IIIB (new pathology or permanent sequelae) in 3% of segments. Device and bone complications were the most frequent. Interpretation — The overall risk of complications was 1 complication for every 3 segments lengthened. In 1 of every 4 segments, complications had a major impact leading to substantial change in treatment, failure to achieve lengthening goal, introduction of a new pathology, or permanent sequelae. However, as no standardized reporting method for complications exists, the true complication rates might be different. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The objective of this case series was to report the long-term patient-reported and functional outcomes of complex bicondylar tibial plateau fractures in patients treated with internal fixation in combination with an Ilizarov fixator., Materials and Methods: A retrospective series of cases. Patient-reported, radiological and functional outcomes were obtained with a mean of 9.4 years' follow-up., Results: Twenty-two patients completed the follow-up. At follow-up, the mean age was 52.2 years, ranging from 26 to 69 years. The gender distribution was 14 males and 8 females. The mean knee injury and osteoarthritis outcome score (KOOS) was pain 72.5, symptoms 62.7, ADL 75.9, sport 35.4, and knee related quality of life (QOL) 56.4. Compared to a reference population, the present study reported worse outcome for the subscales: symptoms, sport, and QOL. The maximal isometric muscle strength for knee extension was 354N for the noninjured leg and 325N for the injured leg ( p = 0.27). Assessment of gait functions showed a gait speed of 122.7 cm/second and a cadence of 112.7 steps/minute. Gait speed and cadence showed no significant difference when compared to a reference population. Radiological examination of knee osteoarthritis (OA) showed 6 patients presented with none OA, 13 patients with mild OA, and 3 patients with severe OA., Conclusion: Complex bicondylar tibial plateau fractures are associated with long-term decreased knee structure-specific patient-reported outcome (KOOS). In contrast, most patients presented with satisfactory long-term radiological and functional outcomes. More research is needed to understand the complex association between patient-reported outcomes and radiological and functional outcomes., Level of Evidence: IV. Series of cases., How to Cite This Article: Larsen P, Traerup J, Mikuzis M, et al. Patient-reported and Functional Outcomes of Bicondylar Tibial Plateau Fractures Managed by Internal Screw Fixation in Combination with An Ilizarov Fixator: A Case Series of 22 Patients with Long-term Follow-up. Strategies Trauma Limb Reconstr 2019;14(2):85-91., Competing Interests: Source of support: Nil Conflict of interest: None, (Copyright © 2019; Jaypee Brothers Medical Publishers (P) Ltd.)