Fracture of the bones within the joint is a challenge to the orthopedic surgeon. Sub optimal reduction, osteoarthritis are complications, that may leave both the doctor and the patient unhappy. With the 3D fluoroscopy, procedures could get more successful. Read on to see how.

Team@CMHF

A randomised multicentric trial:
Posttraumatic osteoarthritis can develop after an intra-articular extremity fracture, leading to pain and loss of function. According to international guidelines, anatomical reduction and fixation are the basis for an optimal functional result.

In order to achieve this during fracture surgery, an optimal view on the position of the bone fragments and fixation material is a necessity. The currently used 2D-fluoroscopy does not provide sufficient insight, in particular in cases with complex anatomy or subtle injury, and even an 18-26% suboptimal fracture reduction is reported for the ankle and foot.

More intra-operative information is therefore needed. Recently the 3D-RX-system was developed, which provides conventional 2D-fluoroscopic images as well as a 3D-reconstruction of bony structures. This modality provides more information which consequently leads to extra corrections in 18-30% of the fracture operations.

However, the effect of the extra corrections on the quality of the anatomical fracture reduction and fixation as well as on patient relevant outcomes has never been investigated. The objective of this study protocol is to investigate the effectiveness of the intra-operative use of the 3D-RX-system as compared to the conventional 2D-fluoroscopy in patients with traumatic intra-articular fractures of the wrist, ankle and calcaneus.

Ref: http://7thspace.com/headlines/388536/fracture_surgery_of_the_extremities_with_the_intra_operative_use_of_3d_rx_a_randomized_multicenter_trial_ef3x_trial.html