Management of open tibia fracture--Anderson and Hutchins technique re-visited

Prior to September 1995, most open tibia fractures seen at the University College Hospital, Ibadan had hitherto been managed by the application of plaster-of-Paris after limited wound debridement. The outcome of this form of treatment was found, from the outpatient clinic follow-up records, to be associated with a high rate of complications including chronic osteomyelitis and joint stiffness. In most hospitals in the developed and developing countries, majority of these injuries are best managed by the use of various types of external fixators. However, these external fixator devices are by no means cheap and often times most patients in our environment are unable to afford them since the country operates a health care system where the patients are solely responsible for their health care needs. In this study, the Anderson and Hutchins technique (Steinmann's pins threaded through bone and incorporated in plaster-of-Paris) was used in the management of thirty-four open tibia fractures between September 1995 and August 1999. Seventy-nine percent of these were severe or Type III open fractures. The time to radiological union was 21 weeks and pin tract infection occurred in 15 percent of the patients, mainly in the proximal (tibia) pins. The use of a single stout proximal (tibia) transfixing Steinmann's pin was found to offer a stable fixation.