Operative Management of Distal Tibial Extra-articular Fractures – Intramedullary Nail Versus Minimally Invasive Percutaneous Plate Osteosynthesis

Background. The ideal treatment of distal tibial extra articular fractures remains controversial. Minimally invasive percutaneous plate osteosynthesis and intramedullary nailing are the two most commonly used methods. We did a prospective randomized controlled study to assess the functional outcome of distal tibial extra articular tibial fractures by comparing these treatment methods. Materials and methods. Sixty patients with distal tibial extra articular fractures were randomly assigned to an IMN (intramedullary nailing) group and a MIPPO (minimally invasive percutaneous plate osteosynthesis) group. All patients were followed up for a period of one year. At final follow-up, clinical and radiological outcome was assessed by foot function index. Malunion, infection, implant removal, time to union and secondary interventions were compared between the two groups. The comparison of continuous variables was performed by using the Student t-test or Mann-Whitney U test in accordance with normality testing. A value of p less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results. All patients were followed up for a period of one year. Time to callus formation was equal in both groups. There was no non-union in our series. Malunion was more common in the nailing group. The foot function index was similar in both groups. Conclusion. MIPPO and intramedullary nailing are effective treatment options in the management of distal tibial extra particular fractures, with comparable functional outcomes.