Arthroscopy assisted reduction and fixation versus open reduction and internal fixation in tibial plateau fracture

Objective To compare the efficacy of arthroscopy assisted reduction and fixation with that of the conventional open reduction and internal fixation in tibial plateau fracture.Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on 48 patients with tibial plateau fractures from April,2005 to April,2009.The patients were divided into Group A( open reduction and internal fixation,n = 22) and Group B( arthroscopy assisted reduction and fixation,n = 26).The average follow-up period was 15.3 months,ranging from 12 to 24 months.Follow-up assessment included the incision length,the hospital stay.Rasmussen radiologic scores.Rasmussen system and radiological evaluation.Results All 48 cases successfully achieved reduction and bone union.In group A,the incision length was( 15.3 ± 2.4) cm,the hospital stay was( 18.3 ± 1.5) d; in groupB,the incision length was( 9.7 ± 1.9) cm,the hospital stay was( 11.8 ± 2.1) d.There was statistically significant differenece between the two groups( t1= 6.32,P1 0.05; t2= 3.34,P2 0.05).According to the Rasmussen radiologic score,the excellent and good rate was 83.5% in group A and 94.9% in group B.According to the Rasmussen system,the excellent and good rate was 82.7% in group A and 93.5% in group B.There was statistically significant differenece between the two groups.Conclusion Arthroscopy assisted reduction and fixation for tibial plateau fractures has advantages of minimally operative invasion,less hospitalization time,satisfactory reduction and good functional recovery of the knee joint.It could find and deal with the intra-joint cavity damnification in early stage,and is a safe and promising procedure for tibial plateau fracture treatment.