Introduction: Arthroscopy procedures are the gold standard for the management of tibial spine avulsion. This review evaluates and compares different arthroscopic treatment options for tibial spine fractures.
Source of data: PubMed, Medline, Ovid, Google Scholar and Embase databases were systematically searched with no limit regarding the year of publication.
Areas of agreement: An arthroscopic approach compared with arthrotomy reduces complications such as soft-tissue lesions, post-operative pain and length of hospitalization.
Areas of controversy: The use of suture techniques, compared to cannulated screw technique, avoids a second surgery for removal of the screws, but requires longer immobilization and partial weight bearing.
Growing points: Clinical outcomes and radiographic results do not seem to differ in relation to the chosen method of fixation.
Areas timely for developing research: Further studies are needed to produce clear guidelines to define the best choice in terms of clinical outcomes, function and complications.
Keywords: arthroscopic treatment; avulsion; fracture; tibial eminence; tibial spine.
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