Introduction: There is a controversy regarding conservative or surgical treatment of calcaneal fracture. We report our experience in surgical treatment of calcaneal fractures.
Materials and Methods: Between March 1998 and May 2004, 30 patients with 32 calcaneal fractures were treated surgically in our departments. Twenty four fractures were caused after a fall from height, 4 fractures were consequence of a road accident, 2 fractures after a blast injury and one after a football injury. There were 4 females and 26 males. Two cases were bi-lateral fractures. Age range 20–66 (mean 33). Follow-up time 7 to 72 months (mean 24 months). The fractures were classified according to Sanders classification: there were 22 patients with Sanders III, 8 patients with Sanders IV and one patient with Sanders II. All patients were operated with the same procedure and the same surgeon. The surgical procedure was delayed from 10 to 14 days post trauma, until swelling subsided. Open Reduction Internal Fixation was performed using lateral approach, “L” shape with subperiosteal dissection of lateral wall, and using a calcaneal reconstruction plate.
Results: The functional outcome was evaluated according to Rowe Score. The clinical results were excellent in 3 patients (10%), good in 22 patients (70%), fair in 4 patients (14%) and poor in 2 patients (6%). The Boehler angle was reconstructed in 29 of 32 calcaneus. 3 patients returned to their previous level of activity, 9 patients returned to work, 14 patients mentioned some pain in the site of the operation. Two patients were treated successfully with oral antibiotics for superficial wound infection. Six patients suffered from peripheral nerve damage. One patient experienced subtalar pain, and underwent a subtalar arthrodesis, furthermore the patient developed Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS), finally he underwent below knee amputation (BKA). One patient had a flap necrosis and underwent sural flap coverage with excellent results. All the patients were recognized in a process to be recognized as disabled by the social security.
Conclusion: Our results were good in majority of patients according to the known classification systems. However, the recovery period from calcaneal fractures is long and the majority of patients do not achieve their previous functional level. The secondary gain might bias the results.
