title: Free non-vascularised fibular graft for treatment of post-traumatic bone defects.
abstract: Post-traumatic bone defects usually occur from severe high-velocity injuries due to road traffic accidents; they may be difficult to fill. We have managed defects of long bones by the use of free non-vascularised fibular grafts harvested subperiosteally and held by screw fixation of the fibular strut ends to the ends of the bone defect, combined with an external fixator in 8 tibial defects and with a plate and screws in 2 ulnae and 2 humeri. Twelve patients, eleven male and one female, with a mean average age of 25 years (range 12-40), underwent this procedure. Eleven grafts (92%) united at both ends within an average of 4 months (range, 3 to 5 months). The defect lengths averaged 7 cm (range from 6 to 10 cm). The long-term follow-up showed complete 'tibialisation' of the fibula. Non-vascularised fibular graft, compared to microvascular reconstruction and Ilizarov techniques, is a simple procedure that is still valid to bridge bone defects successfully in selected cases.
authors: Orthopaedic Department, Mansoura University Hospital, Mansoura, Egypt.
authors: Mostafa
authors: M
authors: El-Sayed
authors: Mahmoud
authors: M
authors: El-Hadidi
authors: Wael
authors: W
authors: El-Adl
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001860:Bone Plates; D001863:Bone Screws; D016025:Bone Transplantation / Q000379:methods*; D002648:Child; D016267:External Fixators; D005260:Female; D005360:Fibula; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005593:Fracture Fixation, Internal / Q000295:instrumentation; D017102:Fracture Healing; D050723:Fractures, Bone / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D006810:Humeral Fractures / Q000601:surgery; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D013978:Tibial Fractures / Q000601:surgery; D020858:Tissue and Organ Harvesting; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014458:Ulna Fractures / Q000601:surgery