Postoperative rotational malalignment in diaphyseal tibia fractures; a systematic review on incidence and impact on patients
Coppens Rune, 2025
The goal of this thesis is to understand the incidence of tibia fractures, the incidence of
rotational malalignment of the tibia after intramedullary nailing and functional impact of this
postoperative malrotation. Tibia fractures have a high incidence with a huge social and
economic impact, which can interfere with our daily activities. The rotational
malalignment after treatment could have a negative functional outcome with even the need for revision surgery as a result. The aim of this study is to identify this incidence as well as the
functional impact. This by using the currently available literature.
Tibia fractures are often treated with intramedullary nailing. A common disadvantage of this
technique is the possibility of rotational malalignment as a complication. Our systematic review
explored studies from 2003-2024 to understand how common rotational malalignment is and
its impact on patients. We analysed data on 889 patients with tibia fractures who underwent
intramedullary nailing. We found that roughly 25% of the patients suffered some degree of
rotational malalignment. A distribution of these cases of rotational malalignment was made for
the severity of malrotation, the direction of malrotation, the fracture location and the grade of
the fracture.
Interestingly, while rotational malalignment could influence the functional performances of the
patients, very few literature have studied this. That’s why the impact on patients remains
inconclusive until this point. The findings of our systematic review emphasize the importance
of continued search into the functional impact on patients.
| Promotor | Jan Van Meirhaeghe |
| Opleiding | Geneeskunde |
| Domein | Chirurgie |
| Kernwoorden | systematic review Rotational malalignment tibial nailing fractures |