The beauty of bridge plating

Osteosynthesis with open reduction technique in comminuted fracture has several disadvantages like increase rate of non-union, soft tissue problem, infection and implant failure. These problems may be overcome by percutaneous bridge plating technique which preserve the vascularity and soft tissue attachment of fracture fragments. Materials and Methods: Twenty-five patients were involve in this study. All of twenty-five patients with closed comminuted diaphyseal fractures of femur (n-10) and tibia (n-15) were operated on using the principle indirect reduction and biological fixation with bridge plate under image intensifier. Partial and full weight bearing were allowed according to clinical and radiological union. Results: Most regained excellent range of motion of knee and ankle. Mean time of radiological union was 20.12 weeks. Two patients had superficial skin problem which healed with local wound care. One patient had non union which was healed by bone grafting. In this study excellent result was seen in 18 cases, good in five and fair in two patients. Conclusion: Our study indicates that minimally invasive bridge plating is an effective alternative for treatment of comminuted diaphyseal fracture of long bones. These complex fractures give complete recovery of normal limb function at an early stage with less complication.