title: Early complications in the operative treatment of ankle fractures. Influence of delay before operation.
abstract: We have reviewed the early complications of 121 surgically treated closed ankle fractures; the complication rate was 30%, with 14 major and 22 minor complications. Fractures with skin blisters or abrasions had more than double the overall complication rate. Fracture-dislocations had three times as many major complications as simple fractures, and those not fixed within 24 hours had a 44% major complication rate compared to 5.3% in those operated upon as emergencies. Patients transferred from another medical facility had high complication rates, especially if they had fracture-dislocations. We conclude that operative treatment of ankle fractures must be delivered in a timely fashion, especially in severe fractures. We would caution against the practice of transferring patients with serious ankle fractures before completion of definitive care.
authors.affiliation: Stanford University, California.
authors.forename: E J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Carragee
authors.forename: J J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Csongradi
authors.forename: E E
authors.initials: EE
authors.lastname: Bleck
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D016512:Ankle Injuries; D005260:Female; D005596:Fractures, Closed / Q000150:complications / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D004204:Joint Dislocations / Q000150:complications; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010360:Patient Transfer; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D013530:Surgical Wound Infection / Q000209:etiology; D013997:Time Factors