Abstract
Tibial plateau fractures are very complex articular fractures with a rare incidence of approximately 10.3%. These fractures may constitute a severe injury to the knee joint and other complications.
A 23- year-old male injured his right knee after a crush accident and was diagnosed with a posterio-latero-central (PLC) sheared fracture of the tibial plateau without an injury to knee ligaments. CT with a reconstruction of the right knee showed that the fracture was accompanied by a free fragment inserted into the anterior compartment of the knee. The free fragment was repositioned to its native location and was fixed with three Herbert screws. Also, we found a peripheral avulsion of the posterio-lateral (PL) portion of the lateral meniscus from the capsular attachment, which was repaired with vicryl absorbable suture. An above knee cast was put in 15-degree flexion for three weeks followed by a restoration of knee movements and weight-bearing after ten weeks of surgery. The patient had a full range of motions and no signs of joint laxity after one year of operation.
This study revealed that the surgical repair allowed a quick return to movement for a PLC sheared fracture of the tibial plateau and can be fixed sufficiently to achieve excellent postoperative recovery.
•An avulsion posterio-latero-central tibial plateau fracture was inserted in the anterior compartment of the knee.•The free fragment was large causing a locking knee but there was no injury for knee ligaments.•Lateral meniscus was avulsed from the capsular attachment and was repaired with vicryl absorbable suture.•The fragment was fixed by three Herbert screws with excellent outcome after the surgery.