Analysis of functional outcomes and complications of tibial bone defects treated with Ilizarov bone transport technique.

Publisher: BioMed Central Country of Publication: England NLM ID: 100968565 Publication Model: Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1471-2474 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 14712474 NLM ISO Abbreviation: BMC Musculoskelet Disord Subsets: MEDLINE

Original Publication: London : BioMed Central, [2000-

Ilizarov Technique*/adverse effects ; Tibia*/surgery ; Tibial Fractures*/surgery ; Tibial Fractures*/diagnostic imaging ; Postoperative Complications*/etiology ; Postoperative Complications*/epidemiology; Humans ; Female ; Male ; Retrospective Studies ; Adult ; Middle Aged ; Treatment Outcome ; Follow-Up Studies ; Bone Transplantation/methods ; Bone Transplantation/adverse effects ; Young Adult

Competing Interests: Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: This retrospective study was approved by the Ethics Committee of The First Affiliated Hospital of Hebei North University and carried out in accordance with the ethical standards set out in the Helsinki Declaration. Informed consent was received from all participating. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Clinical trial number: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.
Background: Trifocal bone transport (TF) rather than bifocal bone transport (BF) can shorten the treatment time when treating of large bone defect in tibia. However, few studies have reported efficacy and complications among different bone transport.
Aim: To evaluate the effectiveness and complications of bone transport technique for the treatment of large bone defect in tibia.
Methods: The retrospective study including 48 patients who underwent bone transport for the treatment of large bone defect in tibia from May 2015 to September 2019. A total of 30 were treated by bifocal bone transport (BF group) and 18 by trifocal bone transport (TF group). Patient demographic data, intraoperative outcomes, postoperative variables, complications and clinical outcomes of the two groups were recorded and compared at a minimum follow-up of 24 months. Postoperative complications were also evaluated according to Paley classification. Based on the Association for the Study and Application of Methods of Ilizarov (ASAMI) standard, the bone and functional results were evaluated at the last clinical follow-up.
Results: All patients with an average follow-up of 27.5 months. All patients achieved complete union in the docking site and consolidation in the regenerate bone. Compared to the BF group, the TF group had a longer bone defect length(9.08 ± 1.74 > 6.33 ± 3.15, P < 0.01) but a shorter external fixation index (42.22 ± 2.41 < 65.82 ± 6.98, P < 0.001). The mean number of complications per patient was 1.6 and 1.7 for BF and TF patients (P > 0.05). At the postoperative follow-up, there were no significant differences between the 2 groups in the bone and functional results (P > 0.05).
Conclusion: For tibial bone defects, both bifocal and trifocal bone transport can achieve good clinical results. Compared to the bifocal bone transport, The trifocal bone transport can significantly shorten the external fixation index without increasing the incidence of associated complications.
(© 2025. The Author(s).)

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20250896 Medical Science Research Program Project of Hebei City

Keywords: Bone transport; Complication; External fixation; Ilizarov; Segmental bone loss; Tibia

Date Created: 20250225 Date Completed: 20250226 Latest Revision: 20250228

20250228

PMC11854418

10.1186/s12891-025-08454-w

40000990