title: Blocking wires facilitate freehand percutaneous plating of periarticular tibia fractures.
abstract: The authors describe the technique of blocking K-wires to facilitate the freehand percutaneous plating of periarticular tibia fractures. The blocking K-wires facilitate anatomic accuracy of plate placement, a limiting feature of percutaneous plating technique particularly in the absence of a plate-specific jig. The described technique is to be applied as part of a staged surgical protocol utilizing temporary external fixation and directed at the preservation of the periarticular soft-tissues of the tibia.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Geisinger Medical Center, 100 N. Academy Avenue, Danville, PA 17822, USA. jcwidmaier@geisinger.edu
authors.forename: James C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Widmaier
authors.forename: Thomas R
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Bowen
mesh_terms: D001860:Bone Plates; D001864:Bone Wires; D005593:Fracture Fixation, Internal / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D013978:Tibial Fractures / Q000601:surgery*