COMPARISON OF FUNCTIONAL OUTCOME BETWEEN EXPERT TIBIA NAIL AND DISTAL TIBIAL MEDIAL LOCKING PLATE BY MIPPO TECHNIQUE FOR CLOSED EXTRA ARTICULAR DISTAL TIBIAL FRACTURE – A PROSPECTIVE STUDY

Background: Distal tibia fractures often result from road traffic accidents, falls from heights, or twisting injuries to the ankle. Managing these fractures is challenging due to the delicate blood supply in this area and its subcutaneous location, which complicates treatment. Internal fixation methods, including locking intramedullary nails and locking compression plates, are commonly employed for stabilizing distal tibia fractures. The study was undertaken among 40 patients in the Methods: department of orthopaedics, Government Medical College and Hospital, Amritsar from May 2022 to June 2024. Patients were allocated randomly into two groups. 20 of them were treated with ETN and rest 20 were treated with LCP by MIPPO technique. The patients were followed up for clinical and radiological evaluation. After six months, the final outcomes were assessed using the Olerud and Molander ankle scoring system, categorizing the results as excellent, good, fair, or poor. Majority of the patients were males (80%). The mean age of patients Results: was 45.5 +-10.88 years and 43.3 +- 10.6 years in groups A and B respectively. Average time to operate was 66.25+-11.95 min in ETN group and 77.75±13.20 min in LCP by MIPPO group showing significant difference (p=0.006). Average time for union was 17.82±2.88 weeks in ETN compared to 21.45±3.43 weeks in LCP which was significant (p=0.001). Complications like superficial infection, deep infection, non union, hardware failure were seen more in plating group, while malalignment, anterior knee pain were seen more in ETN. It was observed that the Exper Conclusion: t tibia nail is superior in terms of allowing early full weight bearing, promoting quicker union, and reduced risk of complications. Consequently, it is considered a better choice of implant for patients undergoing treatment for extra-articular distal third tibia fractures.