Background:

Malunion of tibial pilon fracture, especially with a large cartilage loss of the tibial plafond, is a tough clinical conundrum. This study describes a joint-preserving technique that mainly involves corrective intraarticular osteotomy and osteoperiosteal iliac autograft transplantation for treating these generally considered unreconstructable tibial plafond.

Methods:

Sixteen patients with an average age of 33.6 years who were treated with this joint-preserving method between 2013 and 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. Ankle distraction was applied in all patients. Additional osteochondral autograft transplantation for talus was performed in 4 patients and supramalleolar osteotomy in 2 patients. The visual analog scale (VAS) score, the American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society (AOFAS) ankle-hindfoot score, the 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) score, and the ankle range of motion (ROM) were used for outcome analysis. Radiographic assessment was conducted, and the complications were recorded.

Results:

At a mean follow-up of 41.1 months, the mean VAS, AOFAS, and SF-36 scores improved from 6.3, 47.6, and 38.0 to 1.7, 84.4, and 70.8, respectively (P < .001 for each). The ankle ROM improved from 27.5 to 32.2 degrees (P = .023). The mean area of ilium blocks was 3.5 cm², and the mean external fixation time was 94.1 days. Radiographs showed that good osteointegration was found in all patients and no significant progression of osteoarthritis in 15 patients. The major complications included poor incision healing in 2 patients and severe ankle stiffness in 2 patients, with one of them developing considerable varus-type osteoarthritis but reporting no pain. No deep infection, nonunion, or malunion occurred, and no secondary arthrodesis was performed during the final follow-up.

Conclusion:

Osteoperiosteal iliac autograft transplantation might be an alternative surgical option for reconstructing unreconstructable malunited pilon fractures with a large cartilage loss of the tibial plafond in young patients.

Level of Evidence:

Level IV, case series.