Functional outcomes, of open reduction and internal fixation of danis-weber type b ankle fractures.

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the functional outcomes, of open reduction and internal fixation of Danis-Weber Type B Ankle Fractures in adults. Study Design: Descriptive Cross sectional Study. Setting: Surgical Department of a Medical Facility. Period: January 2023 to November 2023. Methods: In all, 152 participants were examined in this study. The OMAS score and Visual Analogue Score were used to categorize the functional results (VAS). Documentation was also done on the age distribution, gender distribution, and kind of trauma. Regarding the length of the fracture, functional outcomes were stratified, and statistical analysis was used to ascertain significance. Results: Out of 152 patients, 63.15% were male and 36.84% was female. The mean age of the patients was 47.57±8.5 years. Out of the 152 patients, 69 (45.39%) patients had an excellent functional outcome, 24 (15.78%) patients had a good outcome, 44 (28.94%) patients had fair outcome, and 15 (9.86%) patients had poor outcome. Falls from height were responsible for 42 (27.63) cases of fractures, while road traffic accidents (RTA) accounted for 110 (72.36%) of them. There were no appreciable variations in functional results when stratification based on fracture duration was applied. Conclusion: Our research results demonstrated that open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF) is an efficacious method in the treatment of Danis-Weber Type B ankle fractures. Most patients treated with ORIF achieved excellent to good functional performance, indicating remarkable regained range of motion and joint stability. This surgical technique provides an opportunity to bring all the fractured bone segments to their desired anatomical positions to promote healing, thus avoiding the risks of malunion or chronic instability. In addition, the results also indicate that ORIF is aimed at restoring normal function and additionally promotes early mobilization of patients which in turn improves their post-surgical outcomes. These findings emphasize that ORIF is effective and the treatment of choice for this category of ankle fractures and it gives very good results in restoring optimal function.