Soft Tissue Reconstruction for Open Tibia Fractures

Abstract

Tibia fractures are the most common long bone fracture and about 24% of them are open fractures. Open fractures accompany disruption of the soft tissue around the fracture site and the fractures are exposed to the external environment. Contamination of the fracture site and devitalization of the injured soft tissue greatly increase the risk of infection, nonunion, and other complications. The first and most important treatment goal of open fractures is prevention of infection. To accomplish this objective, immediate radical debridement and irrigation, second-look operation, and subsequent soft tissue reconstruction should be performed as soon as possible. However, early soft tissue reconstruction is not always possible and when it should be delayed, negative pressure wound therapy is recommended. Among various reconstructive armamentarium including skin graft, local flaps, pedicled flaps, and free flaps, the best method need to be chosen based on patient’s general condition, size of defect, neurovascular status, range of injury zone, and cosmetic and functional perspectives. Preoperative in-depth evaluation of vascular structures is mandatory and free flaps are preferred when the range of injury zone is wide.