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Comparative Study
. 2019 Apr 11;20(1):167.
doi: 10.1186/s12891-019-2524-1.

Clinical evaluation of ankle arthrodesis with Ilizarov fixation and internal fixation

Piotr Morasiewicz  1 , Maciej Dejnek  2 , Wiktor Orzechowski  2 , Wiktor Urbański  2 , Mirosław Kulej  2 , Szymon Łukasz Dragan  2 , Szymon Feliks Dragan  2 , Łukasz Pawik  3
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Clinical evaluation of ankle arthrodesis with Ilizarov fixation and internal fixation

Piotr Morasiewicz et al. BMC Musculoskelet Disord. .

Abstract

Background: Ankle arthrodesis may have internal or external stabilization. We assessed whether the type of stabilization after ankle arthrodesis will affect: (1) functional outcome in Foot and Ankle Ability Measure (FAAM) scale, (2) pain level, (3) period of hospitalization, (4) rate of complications.

Methods: We retrospectively studied 47 individuals after ankle arthrodesis with Ilizarov fixation (group 1, n = 21) and internal stabilization (group 2, n = 26) at our institution in years 2007-2015. Clinical outcomes were measure by: (1) functional outcome in FAAM scale, (2) pain level, (3) period of hospitalization, (4) rate of complications.

Results: Total number of complications in Ilizarov group was 13, which corresponded to 0.62 complications per patient on average. In group 2 there were 15 complications, which corresponded to 0.58 complications per patient on average. The intergroup difference in rate of complications was not statistically significant (p = 0.066). In group 1 the mean VAS pain level before treatment was 4.69 and after treatment was 1.5 (p = 0.037). In group with internal stabilization the mean VAS pain level before treatment was 4.71 and after treatment was 2.9 (p = 0.044). In group 1 the mean period of hospitalization was 5.29 days, in group 2 was 5.71 days (p = 0.517). In group 1 the mean functional outcome in FAAM scale was 79.38, in group 2 was 70.11 (p = 0.458).

Conclusions: Ankle arthrodesis with Ilizarov stabilization is associated with lower prevalence of VAS pain level after surgery than after internal screws stabilization. Rate of complications, FAAM functional score and period of hospitalization were not statistically significant between group 1 and 2. Clinical outcome was satisfactory in group 1 and 2, but outcomes in Ilizarov group were slightly better than after internal stabilization.

Keywords: Ankle arthrodesis; Clinical; Ilizarov fixation; Internal fixation.

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Conflict of interest statement

Ethics approval and consent to participate

Informed consent,written, was obtained from all participants. The underage consent for the study was signed by their guardians. The study was approved by the Wroclaw Medical University Bioethics Commission.

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Patient with ankle joint arthrodesis with Ilizarov fixator stabilization
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Patient after ankle joint arthrodesis with screws stabilization
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Visual analogue scale (VAS) for pain; Author’s own material
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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