Complications of external fixation of open fractures of the tibia

Forty-two cases of open fractures of the tibia treated by external fixation are presented. Forty-three per cent of patients developed sepsis around one or more pins. Pin track sepsis occurred in 78 per cent of cases involving transfixion pins through muscle and bone but in only 17 per cent of cases using transcutaneous half-pins. Malalignment of more than 5 degrees in any plane was seen in 38 per cent of cases, almost half of which increased in plaster after removal of the fixator.