Sclamberg's Open Reduction for Intra-articular Fractures of the Calcaneus.

Results of operative treatment with open reduction and internal fixation through the lateral approach established by Sclamberg, for calcaneal fractures was evaluated. Seven patients with calcaneal fractures (male 6, female 1, average age: 54 years, average observation period: 15 months) were treated surgically in our hospital since 1990. Types of fracture according to classification of Essex Lopresti were II-B (5) and II-E (2). To evaluate the roentgenological results, the critical angle and the CALCIS score were used. Moreover, clinical assessment was made using the score of Maxfield et al. The clinical angle and the CALCIS score improved from 36.5° to 14.9° and from 7.7 to 5.1 points, respectively. As a clinical assessment, ‘excellent’ and ‘very good’ were observed in 4 and 3 patients respectively. In addition, patients with greater improvement in their critical angle tended to have better clinical scores. We concluded that this procedure is a relatively easy technique and provides better results for intra-articular fractures of the calcaneus.