The Wait Time for Surgery Following Injury Affects Functional Outcomes and Complications After an Ankle Fracture: A...

Area of Science:

• Orthopedic Surgery
• Trauma Research
• Surgical Outcomes

Background:

• Ankle fractures are common injuries requiring surgical intervention.
• The optimal timing for ankle fracture surgery remains a topic of clinical interest.
• Evaluating the impact of delayed surgery on patient outcomes is crucial for evidence-based practice.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate whether extending the waiting period for ankle fracture surgery affects postoperative results.
• To determine the association between delayed surgery and complication rates in ankle fracture patients.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of a multicenter database (TRON) including 596 patients with ankle fractures and no comorbidities.
• Patients were divided into early operation (EO) and delayed operation (DO) groups based on surgery within 7 days.
• Propensity score matching was utilized to control for confounding variables between the groups.

Main Results:

• The delayed operation group exhibited significantly longer operative times compared to the early operation group (115.87 ± 56.59 vs 85.93 ± 34.58 minutes).
• The infection rate was significantly higher in the delayed operation group (6.5%) than in the early operation group (1.6%).

Conclusions:

• Postponing ankle fracture surgery for over a week is linked to increased operative duration.
• Delayed surgical intervention for ankle fractures is associated with a higher incidence of postoperative infection.