Off-Label Use of Buttress Calcaneal Plate in Medial Distal Femoral Fracture to Augment Internal Fixation

High-energy traumatic fractures represent a challenge for orthopaedic surgeons because there are a great variety of morphologic patterns and associated injuries¹. Although the incidence is higher in developing countries, these fractures pose a major financial burden all over the world because of their considerable hospital length of stay, time away from work, rate of failure to return to work, complications, and cost of treatment^2-4. Since the fracture patterns are so variable, some cases may have a lack of available specific osteosynthesis implants, despite recent advancements in implant engineering⁵. However, experienced surgeons are capable of using their knowledge and creativity to treat challenging lesions with use of preexisting plates while following the principles of fracture fixation and without compromising outcomes. In 2012, Hohman et al. described for the first time the use of a calcaneal plate to treat distal femoral fractures⁶. In 2020, Pires et al. further expanded the indications for use of a calcaneal plate⁵. This technical trick is widely utilized in our trauma center, especially in comminuted fractures around the knee. The present video article provides a stepwise description of the off-label use of a calcaneal plate in a medial distal femoral fracture.

The key principles of this procedure involve following common fundamentals during open reduction and internal fixation, approaching the fracture, preserving soft-tissue attachments of the comminution, and reducing the main fragments. Afterwards, the off-label use of a calcaneal plate adds the special feature of being able to contain fracture fragments with plate contouring. If necessary and if osseous morphology allows, bone grafting through the plate may also be performed.

Multiple fixation implants can be utilized in medial distal femoral fractures. Surgeon-contoured plates (i.e., locking compression plates or low-contact dynamic compression plates), multiple mini-fragment plates, cortical screws alone, cannulated cancellous screws alone, or proximal humeral plates are among the alternatives^5-9. However, the lack of specific implants for fixation of fractures involving the medial femoral condyle is notable, even in developed countries¹⁰.

The small-fragment calcaneal plate is a widely available and cheaper implant compared with locking compression plates, which is especially important in developing countries. Additionally, this plate has a lower profile, covers a greater surface area, and allows multiple screws in different planes and directions. The use of this plate represents a great technical trick for surgeons to contain comminution.

Patient education regarding fracture severity is mandatory, and it is important to highlight that there is no current gold standard to treat these fractures because of the wide variability of morphological patterns. To our knowledge, all studies reporting the use of a calcaneal plate to treat these fractures have shown promising results, including good functional outcomes and 100% fracture healing with no cases of nonunion, infection, or implant failure^5,6,10-14. In the largest case series to date, Shekar et al. performed an interventional prospective study of 30 patients undergoing calcaneal plating for distal femoral unicondylar fractures¹⁴. They reported a mean range of motion of 108° ± 28.27° at 6 months, with excellent or satisfactory results in 80% of patients as measured with use of the Neer scoring system¹⁴.

Preserve the blood supply by performing minimal soft-tissue dissection.Do not detach comminuted fragments from the soft tissues, which will help fracture reduction.Reduce the main fragments anatomically and fix as necessary.Contain the comminution using the spanning property and large covering area of the calcaneal plate.Perform bone grafting through the plate as necessary.