Early complications of preoperative external traction fixation in the staged treatment of tibial fractures: A series of 402 cases

Table 1 Position and direction of Steinmann pin entry point

Position	Entry point	Direction
Supracondylar femur	Intersection of horizontal line two digits upper patella and sagittal line three digits beside the midline	Medial to lateral
Proximal tibia	2 cm distal to the point 2 cm beside the highest point of the tibial tubercle	Lateral to medial
Distal tibia	More than 5 cm above the leading edge of the ankle	Lateral to medial
Calcaneus	The posterior 2/3 point of the line between the tip of the medial malleolus and the posterior lower margin of the heel	Medial to lateral

Table 2 Demographic data

	n	Complications	P value
Sex			0.403
Male	283	15
Female	119	4
Laterality			0.833
Left	160	8
Right	242	11
Pin placement
Drill	163	12	0.040a
Hammer	239	7
Tscherne classification			0.722
C1	93	4
C2	213	9
C3	96	6
Tibial fractures			0.775
AO41	115	5
AO42	49	1
AO43	127	7
AO44	111	6

^aP < 0.05.

Table 3 Complications details

Cases	Age	Sex	Injury mechanism	Fractures, AO/OTA	Pin placement	Complications	Comorbidity	Outcome	Traction duration in d
1	32	Male	Traffic trauma	43	Drilling	Discharge	-	Recovered	9
2	45	Male	Fall	44	Hammering	Cellulitis	-	Recovered	10
3	56	Male	Traffic trauma	43	Drilling	Loosening	-	Recovered	11
4	41	Male	Traffic trauma	41	Drilling	Dorsal foot hypoesthesia	Obesity	Recovered	10
5	32	Female	Traffic trauma	44	Hammering	Effusion	-	Recovered	11
6	56	Female	Traffic trauma	41	Drilling	Loosening	-	Recovered	9
7	67	Male	Traffic trauma	43	Drilling	Effusion& Loosening	Osteoporosis	Recovered	8
8	55	Male	Fall	41	Drilling	Infection &Loosening	Diabetes	Twice debridement	8
9	67	Male	Traffic trauma	43	Drilling	Erysipelas	Hypertension	Recovered	6
10	44	Male	Traffic trauma	41	Hammering	Reducing ankle extension	-	Recovered	4
11	24	Male	Traffic trauma	41	Drilling	Effusion	-	Recovered	6
12	37	Male	Traffic trauma	44	Hammering	Loosening	-	Recovered	6
13	19	Male	Traffic trauma	44	Drilling	Dorsal foot hypoesthesia	-	No	2
14	28	Male	Traffic trauma	44	Hammering	Iatrogenic fracture	-	Recovered	8
15	37	Female	Traffic trauma	42	Drilling	Reducing hallux extension	Obesity	Recovered	7
16	32	Male	Traffic trauma	43	Drilling	Effusion	-	Recovered	8
17	56	Male	Traffic trauma	43	Hammering	Reducing hallux extension	Coronary heart disease	Recovered	8
18	45	Male	Traffic trauma	43	Drilling	Loosening	-	Recovered	19
19	56	Female	Traffic trauma	44	Drilling	Effusion	Diabetes	Recovered	11