Two-stage operative treatment of comminuted os calcis fractures. Primary indirect reduction with medial external fixation and delayed lateral plate fixation.

The indication for otherwise established lateral plate fixation in fractures of the calcaneus becomes relative when severe comminution (Sander's Type III and IV) of the bone involves concomitant massive soft-tissue swelling. The calcaneus is shortened, Böhler's angle flattened, and lateral bulging and varus deformity persist throughout the six or more days needed for soft-tissue compromise to recede. Intraoperatively, problems with anatomic reduction are encountered primarily because of soft-tissue shrinkage and muscle contraction, underscoring the rationale for conservative treatment modalities. A two-stage approach--primary medial external fixation and delayed lateral plate fixation--stabilizes the calcaneus in a nearly anatomic position by calculated distraction through medial external fixation, leaving joint congruency to be restored in a secondary procedure, when soft tissues pose no problem for a lateral approach. The two-stage procedure was used in 13 of 49 cases, in which soft-tissue compromise was severe. Anatomic primary reduction greatly facilitated delayed lateral plate fixation. Infection rates were not traced to the external fixation. Massive bone grafting was associated with a high occurrence of complications.