[Primary osteotomy of the fibula in the treatment of post-traumatic tibial pseudoarthrosis].

In a retrospective study 32 case histories of patients with primary osteotomies of the fibula were evaluated to find out the reliability of this method in the treatment of tibial pseudarthroses. The influence of the osteotomy level and extent was taken into account as well. In 23 cases the pseudarthroses resulted from tibial and fibular fractures. Causative for the pseudarthroses were the blocking effects of healed fibula, tibial infection and loose osteosynthetic materials. 22 tibial pseudoarthroses healed by fibular osteotomy and postoperative immobilisation only, healing time was 25 months on average, in case of proximal fibular osteotomies even longer. The extent of fibular resection was between 5 and 30 mm. In contrast to "modern" methods of treatment, primary osteotomies in the treatment of tibial pseudarthroses take a rather long time to heal.