Ipsilateral Tibial Shaft Fractures and Knee Ligament Injuries

Lee, Eun Woo; Kang, Soo Yong; Seo, Jung Hwan

Abstract

Nine patients with ipsilateral tibial shaft fractures and knee ligament injuries were retrospectively reviewed to determine the methods of the diagnosis and the results of the treatment. The incidence of this combined injuries was 5% in one hundred and eighty two tibial shaft fractures. The injuries of posterior cruciate ligament were combined most freqently. Five of nine patients were open fractures. Bone union was obtained in all cases and the mean duration of bone union was 22.5 weeks. Athroscopy and stress X-ray for the cruciate ligament were helpful to diagnose this combined injures. The ligament injuries were surgically managed in eight and conservatively in one. Better results were obtained when this combined injuries were operated early, but four of nine patients were disabled. The results suggest that the examination of the knee is necessary to document ligamentous injuries that occur with tibial shaft fractures.