Posterolateral Approach to Posterior Malleolar Fractures: A Literature Review

This study reviews the current evidence on the indications and outcomes of the posterolateral approach in the treatment of posterior malleolar fractures. PubMed and Google Scholar search engines were used to construct a review of the literature for all studies detailing the posterolateral approach for posterior malleolar fracture fixation. A total of 11 studies met our inclusion criteria. In total, 332 fractures were identified. Overall superficial infection occurred in 4.5%, skin necrosis in 4.5%, and nerve injury in 4.5%. Hardware irritation that required removal occurred in 13.6%. None of the hardware removals involved posterior malleolus fixation. A total of 51 (15.4%) cases of arthritis were reported, follow-up ranged from a mean of 5.3 months to a mean 7.9 years. Regardless the majority of patient reported outcomes were excellent/good at final follow-up. Thresholds for joint reduction were not uniformly described or even quantified at all in some of the included studies. Variable indications for fixation were reported without reference to posterior malleolus fracture morphology. The posterolateral approach provides a satisfactory approach for fracture reduction with similar complication rates to that reported for other ankle fracture approaches. Further research is required on posterior malleolus fracture morphology, optimal fracture fixation and longer term functional and radiological outcomes.Levels of Evidence: Level III: Systematic review of retrospective cohort studies.