Myroslav Petrylko, 35, could have lost the ability to walk after an accident, as he suffered a complex intra-articular fracture of the knee.
Only a complex reconstructive surgery could save the mobility of the limb.
It was performed by orthopedic traumatologists at St Luke’s Hospital of the First Medical Association of Lviv.
The accident happened in early September. Myroslav Petrylko was riding a motorbike and collided with a car. After falling, the motorcyclist realised that his left leg was completely immobilised. An ambulance took the victim to hospital.
After examination, doctors diagnosed Myroslav with a closed multifragmentary intra-articular fracture of both condyles of the left tibia.
The first thing Lviv specialists did was to install an external fixation apparatus on the injured limb. It was necessary to stabilise the fracture, reduce soft tissue swelling and prevent possible complications. Two weeks later, the orthopedic traumatologists were able to start the next and most important stage of treatment – reconstructive surgery.
“This is the most complicated classification of intra-articular fracture of the tibia in the knee joint area. In order to avoid disability and restore the function of the injured limb, reconstructive surgery using titanium structures and bone grafts is required,” says Yuriy Kit, orthopedic traumatologist at St Luke’s Hospital of the First Medical Association in Lviv.
During the surgery, the specialists first repositioned the bone fragments of the knee joint, i.e. returned them to their correct anatomical position, and then replaced the bone defect with an artificial graft. And at the last stage, the orthopedic traumatologists performed metal osteosynthesis, i.e. fixed the joint with titanium plates.
This operation made it possible to preserve Myroslav’s knee joint, which means he will be able to walk in the future. However, his recovery will be long, as such a fracture takes at least six months to heal. So, the patient will have to undergo a long rehabilitation and physical therapy sessions. The main thing is that he will eventually get back on his feet.