Costs and Complications of Single-Stage Fixation Versus 2-Stage Treatment of Select Bicondylar Tibial Plateau Fractures.

OBJECTIVES

To determine the differences in costs and complications in patients with bicondylar tibial plateau (BTP) fractures treated with 1-stage definitive fixation compared with 2-stage fixation after initial spanning external fixation.

DESIGN

Retrospective cohort study.

SETTING

Level 1 Trauma Center.

PATIENTS/PARTICIPANTS: Patients with OTA/AO 41-C (Schatzker 6) BTP fractures treated with open reduction internal fixation.

INTERVENTION

Definitive treatment with open reduction internal fixation either acutely (1 stage) or delayed after initial spanning external fixation (2 stage).

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Wound healing complications, implant costs, hospital charges, Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS), reoperation, nonunion and infection.

RESULTS

One hundred five patients were identified over a three-year period, of whom 52 met the inclusion criteria. There were 28 patients in the 1-stage group and 24 patients in the 2-stage group. Mean follow-up was 21.8 months, and 87% of patients had at least 12 months of follow-up. The mean number of days to definitive fixation was 1.2 in the 1-stage group and 7.8 in the 2-stage group. There were no differences between groups with respect to wound healing or any other surgery-related complications. Functional outcomes PROMIS were similar between groups. Mean implant cost in the 2-stage group was $10,821 greater than the 1-stage group, mostly because of the costs of external fixation. Median hospital inpatient charges in the 2-stage group exceeded the 1-stage group by more than $68,000 for all BTP fractures and by $61,000 for isolated BTP fractures.

CONCLUSIONS

Early single-stage treatment of BTP fractures is cost-effective and is not associated with a higher complication rate than 2-stage treatment in appropriately selected patients.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

Therapeutic Level III. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.