Volume: 13 Issue: 2
Year: 2025, Page: 85-91, Doi: https://doi.org/10.47799/pimr.1302.25.16
Received: June 1, 2025 Accepted: June 17, 2025 Published: July 29, 2025
Background: Tibial plateau fractures, though uncommon, present significant clinical challenges due to their intra-articular involvement, variability in fracture patterns, and risk of long-term morbidity. Surgical management aims to restore joint congruity, alignment, and function. Objective: To assess and compare the functional and radiological outcomes of tibial plateau fractures managed surgically using various fixation techniques at a tertiary care centre. Methods: This prospective study included 60 patients aged 20–70 years with closed, unstable tibial plateau fractures treated surgically between November 2016 and December 2018. Fractures were classified using Schatzker’s system. Operative methods included percutaneous cannulated cancellous screws (PCCS), open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF) with buttress plate ± bone graft and locking compression plates (LCP). Postoperative care included standard physiotherapy and rehabilitation protocols. Clinical and radiological outcomes were assessed at 6 months using the Modified Rasmussen Criteria. Results: The most common fracture pattern was Schatzker Type II (33.3%). ORIF with buttress plate and bone graft was the most commonly used technique (33.3%). Clinical outcomes were excellent or good in 86.3%, and radiological outcomes were excellent or good in 87%. A statistically significant association (p = 0.004) was observed between radiological and clinical outcomes. Postoperative complications included infection and stiffness in 6.7% each, and deformity in 3.3%. Conclusion: Surgical management of tibial plateau fractures yields favourable clinical and radiological outcomes when fixation technique is appropriately selected based on fracture morphology. Radiological alignment strongly correlates with functional recovery, reinforcing the need for anatomic reduction and early mobilisation.
Keywords: Tibial plateau fracture, Schatzker classification, Surgical fixation, ORIF, Functional outcome, Radiological outcome, Rasmussen criteria
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©2025 (Chowdam Jagan Babu) et al. This is an open-access journal, and articles are distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License CC-BY 4.0. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original authors and source are credited.
Babu CJ, Reddy TM, Sathya AM. A Study of Tibial Plateau Fracture Management by Surgical Methods and their Functional and Radiological Evaluation in Tertiary Care Hospital. Perspectives in Medical Research. 2025;13(2):85-91
DOI: 10.47799/pimr.1302.25.16