Inside out rafting K-wire technique for tibial plateau fractures

With the introduction of 3.5 anatomically pre-shaped plates, the rafting screw technique is gaining popularity in recent years for the management of lateral tibial plateau fractures with articular depression. To gain access to the depressed articular fragments, the split fragment is hinged open laterally. We elevate the depressed articular fragments to the normal level. The defect below is filled with bone graft or its substitutes. We then close the split fragment and apply rafting screws either through the screw holes of the plate or separately above the plate rather in a blind fashion. We therefore cannot be sure that the rafting screws are supporting the specific elevated fragments. For this reason some surgeons place the rafting screws from within and then close the lateral fragment over the screws. This so-called embedded rafting screw technique carries the risk of difficulty in removal, especially in case of an infection. Here we describe the inside out rafting technique to tackle this problem.