Tibial Plateau Fractures
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Tibial plateau fractures are relatively uncommon injuries. They are fractures that involve the shin bone and the knee joint. Some fractures can be managed in a brace but most serious fractures of the tibia plateau require surgery and a stay in hospital.
Trauma Surgeons at Victorian Bone and Joint Specialists will assess your injury and organise x-rays and scans if required. If surgery is needed, our specialists will help guide you through the process as a successful outcome will require recovery and rehabilitation often with physiotherapists close to your home location in Melbourne.
Normal tibia
Fractured tibia
Tibia fixed with surgery
A simple crack in the bone, while painful, will normally heal well. Surgeons at Victorian Bone and Joint Specialists will immobilise the leg and often advise treatment with a specialist hinged knee brace. Follow up x-rays will be required.
If the broken bone has moved too much or if there is instability of the knee surgery to lock the bone back in place maybe the best option. Sometimes bone graft is also required. Your surgeon at Bone and Joint will discuss this with you.
Fractured tibia
Scan showing fracture
X-ray showing healing
Once fixed, you may be able to begin to move the knee under the instruction of your surgeon in a brace. Placing weight on the leg will depend on the type of fracture you have and how it needed to be fixed however, most tibial plateau fractures require a period of weight not being placed on the leg.
There are risks with surgery. These include infection, delayed healing or no healing of the bone. Sometime surgery to remove screws or the plate is required in the future. Arthritis of the knee may occur as a result of this injury.
