González Quevedo David, Sánchez Siles Juan Manuel, Rojas Tomba Facundo, Tamimi Mariño Iskandar, Bravo Bardaji Manuel Francisco, Villanueva Pareja Francisco
Surgeon, Department of Orthopedic Surgery and Traumatology, Regional University Hospital of Málaga, Málaga, Spain.
Surgeon, Department of Orthopedic Surgery and Traumatology, Regional University Hospital of Málaga, Málaga, Spain.
J Foot Ankle Surg. 2017 Jul-Aug;56(4):740-743. doi: 10.1053/j.jfas.2017.02.003.
The most frequent postoperative complications after an ankle fracture are usually skin related. We present the results of a retrospective study of 112 patients with ankle fracture who had undergone open reduction and internal fixation from January 2014 to December 2014. The following features were analyzed: patient comorbidities, fracture type, the presence of an open fracture or fracture-dislocation, timing and duration of surgery, preoperative glucose level, and short-term complications (i.e., blisters, wound dehiscence, deep and superficial infections, and reintervention). The mean age of the patients was 50.38 years. Fracture blisters were present in 20.5% of the cases. The operative time was 75.74 ± 25.09 minutes for patients with blisters and 64.48 ± 19.73 minutes for patients without blisters (p = .023). The preoperative blood glucose levels were 122.96 ± 28.46 g/dL in the patients with blisters and 106.70 ± 21.32 g/dL in the patients without blisters (p = .003). No statistically significant differences were observed between the patients who had undergone surgery <24 hours after injury and those who had done so >24 hours after injury. In conclusion, the presence of postoperative blisters in patients with ankle fractures was associated with prolonged surgical procedures and high serum glucose levels.
