Outcomes of U-shaped internal fixation in the treatment of avulsion fracture of calcaneal tubercle

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to analyze the efficacy of U-shaped internal fixation for calcaneal tubercle fracture after nearly 3 years of case follow-up and data collection. METHOD: We retrospectively analyzed the collected data from 16 patients with avulsion fracture of calcaneal tubercle between December 2018 and February 2021 at our institute. All patients were required to conform to regular follow up postoperatively. X-ray film was applied to all cases. The American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Association (AOFAS) score, Cedell score and the visual analog scale (VAS) were used to evaluate functional results. RESULTS: All patients achieved bone union. The preoperative AOFAS score was 26.34 ± 3.34, which was significantly different from 91.38 ± 6.15 half a year after operation (p = 0.003). The preoperative Cedell score was 31.05 ± 4.18 and the score half a year after operation was 92.17 ± 5.39(p = 0.011). The VAS score was 8.91 ± 1.51 before operation and decreased to 0.58 ± 1.31 half a year after operation (p = 0.014). CONCLUSIONS: In the treatments of calcaneal tubercle fracture, U-shaped internal fixation is a new attempt. Through the short-term follow-up study, we found that its therapeutic effect is excellent, which is a recommended treatment in clinic.