Can Laser-Assisted Indocyanine Green Angiography Be Used to Quantify Perfusion Changes During Staged Fixation of Pilon Fractures? A Pilot Study.

OBJECTIVE

To quantify soft tissue perfusion changes in pilon fractures during staged treatment using laser-assisted indocyanine green angiography (LA-ICGA).

SETTING

Level 1 trauma center.

DESIGN

Prospective cohort study.

PATIENTS/

PARTICIPANTS

Twelve patients with 12 pilon fractures participated in the study. Seven patients had OTA/AO classification of 43-C3, 3 had 43-C2, and 2 had 43-B2.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: LA-ICGA was performed with the SPY fluorescence imaging platform. Analysis via ImageJ was used to generate a fractional area of perfusion (FAP) based on fluorescent intensity to objectively quantify soft tissue perfusion. Anterior, medial, and lateral measurements were performed at the time of initial external fixation (EF) application and then at the time of definitive fixation.

RESULTS

FAP within the region of interest was on average 64% medially, 61% laterally, and 62% anteriorly immediately before EF placement. Immediately before definitive open reduction internal fixation, fractional region of interest perfusion was on average 86% medially, 87% laterally, and 86% anteriorly. FAP increased on average 24% medially ( P = 0.0004), 26% laterally ( P = 0.001), and 19% anteriorly ( P = 0.002) from the time of initial EF to the time of definitive open reduction and internal fixation.

CONCLUSIONS

Quantitative improvement in soft tissue perfusion was identified through the course of staged surgical management in pilon fractures. LA-ICGA potentially may be used to determine appropriate timing for definitive surgical intervention based on the readiness of the soft tissue envelope. Ultimately, these findings may influence clinical outcomes with respect to choice of surgical approach, soft tissue management, surgical timing, and wound healing.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Diagnostic Level III. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.