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Updated: Jun 15, 2026
Creating Rigidly Stabilized Fractures for Assessing Intramembranous Ossification, Distraction Osteogenesis, or Healing of Critical Sized Defects
Published on: April 11, 2012
A staged treatment plan for the management of Type II and Type IIIA open calcaneus fractures
Samir Mehta1, Amer J Mirza, Robert P Dunbar
1Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Orthopaedic Trauma Service, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. samir.mehta@uphs.upenn.edu
Objective:
To assess the results of a standardized staged treatment strategy for displaced open calcaneal fractures with medial wounds.
Design:
Retrospective case series.
Setting:
Level I trauma center.
Patients/Participants:
Fourteen displaced open Type II or Type IIIA Orthopaedic Trauma Association (OTA) 73 Type B or C calcaneal fractures treated between January 2000 and December 2007 who were managed with a standardized regimen.
Intervention:
Patients were treated in a staged fashion with antibiotics, irrigation, débridement, and percutaneous Kirschner wire fixation followed by definitive open reduction and internal fixation when soft tissues were amenable to fixation.
Main Outcome Measures:
Data regarding demographics, injury characteristics, time to fixation, interventions, and treatment complications were documented. The complication rate, time to bony union, and additional procedures were determined.
Results:
There were four OTA 73B and 10 OTA 73C injuries with open Type II or Type IIIA wounds on the medial side. All patients had débridement, irrigation, and percutaneous fixation within 8 hours of presentation. Definitive fixation was carried out on average 18 days after initial presentation with 10 patients only requiring the initial débridement and stabilization procedure followed by definitive fixation All 14 patients underwent definitive fixation through an extensile lateral approach. A superficial infection developed in one patient and a deep infection in one patient. All patients went on to union at an average follow up of 19 months.
Conclusion:
Open Type II and IIA wounds associated with displaced OTA Type 73 B or C calcaneal fractures represent high-energy injuries with potential increased risk for wound complications. In our series, a staged treatment strategy consisting of urgent débridement, provisional internal stabilization, and late definitive reconstruction offers a protocol that may reduce infections associated with open calcaneal fractures.
