Spontaneous Bone Regeneration after Traumatic Bone Loss in Young Patient: A Case Report

Bone loss represents both clinical and technical challenge for orthopedic surgeons. There are several surgical options for the treatment of these patients, but currently no specific guidelines on the best management of these injuries are available. We present the case of a young male patient (12 years old) diagnosed with an open distal tibial fracture with bone loss (about 8 centimeters), a closed distal fibula fracture and posterior tibial nerve and posterior tibial arterial injuries, due to a high energy road trauma. The orthopedic surgery team scheduled tissue debridement and nerve repair, followed by the positioning of a monoaxial external fixator. Surprisingly, an x-ray performed 30 days after the surgical treatment showed a spontaneous improvement in terms of bone regeneration. Orthopedic surgeons decided to have a “wait and see approach”. A clinical follow up was scheduled in the following months and, after a year, bone was completely regenerated.