Reconstruction of a Short Tibial Stump with a Long Fibula Using the Ilizarov Technique: A Case Study

Abstract

The creation of a functional tibial stump after combat injuries is sometimes too difficult. We describe a case of high amputation after a mine-blast injury. In this case, the tibia stump was too short (5 cm) and the fibula stump was too long (12 cm). There was a soft tissue reserve. The Ilizarov method was used to lengthen the tibia. The technique of the operation with exposure of the anterior medial ligament, its separation from the distal part of the bone, subperiosteal excision of the medial part of the patellar tendon from the tibia, oblique-frontal corticotomy of the tibia, which allowed to avoid undesirable complications during the distraction and to obtain a wide, strong regenerate, is described in detail. The alignment of the tibia lengths resulted in a highly functional stump with the possibility of full prosthetics. The proposed technique can be used in reconstructive operations on short stumps that require lengthening.