Background: Salvage surgery for a nonunion around the ankle is challenging. Poor bone stock, stiffness, scarring, previous (or persistent) infection, and a compromised soft tissue envelope are common in these patients. We describe 15 cases that underwent blade plate fixation as salvage for a nonunion around the ankle, including patient/nonunion characteristics, Nonunion Scoring System (NUSS), surgical technique, healing rate, complications, and long-term follow-up with 2 patient-reported outcome measures.
Methods: This is a retrospective case series from a level 1 trauma referral center. We included all patients that underwent blade plate fixation for a long-standing nonunion of the distal tibia, talus, or failed subtalar fusion. All patients had autogenous bone grafting, including 14 with posterior iliac crest grafts and 2 with femoral reamer irrigator aspirator grafting. Median follow-up was 24.4 months (interquartile range [IQR], 7.7-40). Main outcome measures were (time to) union, and functional outcomes using the 36-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) physical component summary (PCS) and mental component summary (MCS), and the Foot and Ankle Outcome Score (FAOS).
Results: We included 15 adults with a median age of 58 years (IQR, 54-62). The median NUSS score at the time of index surgery was 46 (IQR, 34-54). Union was achieved after the index procedure in 11 of 15 patients. Additional surgery was performed in 4 of 15 patients. Union was achieved in all patients at a median of 4.2 months (IQR, 2.9-11). The median score for the PCS was 38 (IQR, 34-48, range 17-58, P = .009), for the MCS 52 (IQR, 45-60, range 33-62, P = .701), and for the FAOS 73 (IQR, 48-83).
Conclusion: In this series, our use of blade plate fixation with autogenous grafting was an effective method for managing a nonunion around the ankle allowing for alignment correction, stable compression and fixation, union, and fair patient-reported outcome scores.
Level of evidence: Level IV, therapeutic.
Keywords: ankle; blade plate; graft; nonunion; pseudoarthrosis; salvage.