title: Submuscular plating of the femur through an anterior approach after bone distraction.
abstract: The method of osteogenesis by distraction is a known technique in orthopaedics for the management of bone defects secondary to trauma, infections or tumours. New strategies have been developed for decreasing the external fixator time. The use of the minimally invasive plate osteosynthesis technique is a secure approach through a percutaneous fixation technique in the anterior aspect of the femur that permits minimal dissection of the soft tissues while preventing cross-contamination with the pin tracts of the external fixators. The goal of this article is to show that a new surgical technique, to preserve the benefits related to the internal fixation and at the same time decrease the risk of infection, can be used to perform femoral plating after bone distraction with a low contact plate through an anterior approach to the femur while still taking adequate care of the soft tissues.
authors.affiliation: Osteoarticular Diseases Institute, Imbanaco Medical Center, Cali, Colombia.
authors.forename: Federico
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Persico
authors.affiliation: Osteoarticular Diseases Institute, Imbanaco Medical Center, Cali, Colombia. fletscher@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Gabriel
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0979-6538
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Fletscher
authors.affiliation: Osteoarticular Diseases Institute, Imbanaco Medical Center, Cali, Colombia.
authors.forename: Mauricio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zuluaga
keywords: Anterior approach; Bone distraction; Conversion; MIPO technique