Background :

Compound tibia fractures are common in high velocity accidents.The treatment of tibial shaft fractures should obtain healed,well aligned fracture,pain free weight bearing and a functional range of movement of knee and ankle joints.

External fixation is a versatile tool for treatment of compound tibial fractures providing stable fixation,preserving soft tissue and bony vascularity,leaving wounds accessible and causes minimal blood loss.

We here modify the classic Wagner’s external fixator to include a quarter of Ilizarov ring,Rancho cubes and Aesculap clamps to make it mechanically stable and rigid besides being versatile and patient friendly.We call it Augmented Wagner’s External Fixator.It spans across the fracture gap in cases of comminution like internal neutralization plate.Compression can be directed across the fracture getting bone to bone contact without bone grafting.Rotational and translational deformity can be corrected as consolidation progresses.Treatment of compound injuries requires soft tissue coverage,vascular repair and this apparatus permits these to be performed easily.

Methods :

Combined i.e. both Retrospective and Prospective study

Duration: February 2005 to December 2009

Number of patients: 25; 15 retrospective and 10 prospective

Scores used: Iowa knee and ankle score

Results :

The patients were followed up for an average of 2 years after injury.

According to average of Iowa knee and Iowa ankle score,we had 88% excellent, 6 % good, 4% fair and 2% poor results with an average of  92 and 96 on the knee and ankle scores respectively.

Conclusion :

The Augmented Wagner’s external fixator is a versatile,user friendly and a reliable tool for stabilization of compound tibia fractures offering advantage of better wound care.