Immediate Weight-Bearing after Ankle Fracture Fixation

We believe that a certain subset of surgical ankle fracture patients can be made weight-bearing as tolerated immediately following surgery. Immediate weight-bearing as tolerated (IWBAT) allows patients to return to ambulation and activities of daily living faster and may facilitate rehabilitation. A...

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Main Authors: Reza Firoozabadi, Emily Harnden, James C. Krieg
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2015-01-01
Series:Advances in Orthopedics
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/491976
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author Reza Firoozabadi
Emily Harnden
James C. Krieg
author_facet Reza Firoozabadi
Emily Harnden
James C. Krieg
author_sort Reza Firoozabadi
collection DOAJ
description We believe that a certain subset of surgical ankle fracture patients can be made weight-bearing as tolerated immediately following surgery. Immediate weight-bearing as tolerated (IWBAT) allows patients to return to ambulation and activities of daily living faster and may facilitate rehabilitation. A prospectively gathered orthopaedic trauma database at a Level 1 trauma center was reviewed retrospectively to identify patients who had ORIF after unstable ankle injuries treated by the senior author. Patients were excluded if they were not IWBAT based on specific criteria or if they did meet followup requirement. Only 1/26 patients was noted to have loss of fixation. This was found at the 6-week followup and was attributed to a missed syndesmotic injury. At 2-week followup, 2 patients had peri-incisional erythema that resolved with a short course of oral antibiotics. At 6-week followup, 20 patients were wearing normal shoes and 6 patients continued to wear the CAM Boot for comfort. To conclude, IWBAT in a certain subset of patients with stable osteosynthesis following an ankle fracture could potentially be a safe alternative to a period of protected weight-bearing.
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spelling doaj-art-ede6748c869642a8b3fa5d97fe5b8c802025-08-20T03:20:43ZengWileyAdvances in Orthopedics2090-34642090-34722015-01-01201510.1155/2015/491976491976Immediate Weight-Bearing after Ankle Fracture FixationReza Firoozabadi0Emily Harnden1James C. Krieg2Department of Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine, Harborview Medical Center, University of Washington, 325 9th Avenue, P.O. Box 3595798, Seattle, WA 98104, USADepartment of Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine, Harborview Medical Center, University of Washington, 325 9th Avenue, P.O. Box 3595798, Seattle, WA 98104, USARothman Institute, Philadelphia, PA 19107, USAWe believe that a certain subset of surgical ankle fracture patients can be made weight-bearing as tolerated immediately following surgery. Immediate weight-bearing as tolerated (IWBAT) allows patients to return to ambulation and activities of daily living faster and may facilitate rehabilitation. A prospectively gathered orthopaedic trauma database at a Level 1 trauma center was reviewed retrospectively to identify patients who had ORIF after unstable ankle injuries treated by the senior author. Patients were excluded if they were not IWBAT based on specific criteria or if they did meet followup requirement. Only 1/26 patients was noted to have loss of fixation. This was found at the 6-week followup and was attributed to a missed syndesmotic injury. At 2-week followup, 2 patients had peri-incisional erythema that resolved with a short course of oral antibiotics. At 6-week followup, 20 patients were wearing normal shoes and 6 patients continued to wear the CAM Boot for comfort. To conclude, IWBAT in a certain subset of patients with stable osteosynthesis following an ankle fracture could potentially be a safe alternative to a period of protected weight-bearing.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/491976
spellingShingle Reza Firoozabadi
Emily Harnden
James C. Krieg
Immediate Weight-Bearing after Ankle Fracture Fixation
Advances in Orthopedics
title Immediate Weight-Bearing after Ankle Fracture Fixation
title_full Immediate Weight-Bearing after Ankle Fracture Fixation
title_fullStr Immediate Weight-Bearing after Ankle Fracture Fixation
title_full_unstemmed Immediate Weight-Bearing after Ankle Fracture Fixation
title_short Immediate Weight-Bearing after Ankle Fracture Fixation
title_sort immediate weight bearing after ankle fracture fixation
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/491976
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AT emilyharnden immediateweightbearingafteranklefracturefixation
AT jamesckrieg immediateweightbearingafteranklefracturefixation