A new technique for internal fixation of lateral malleolar tip of fracture

The aim of this study is comparison of three common internal fixation and one new fixation techniques for tip of lateral malleolar fracture using finite element analysis. The common technique uses a third tubular plate with five holes along the five screws for bone fixation. The new technique that is presented in this study, add a tensile wire to the first technique to improve performance of fixation. In the third technique, a long internal screw is used to connect two parts of fractured bone. In the forth technique two mounted pins in the bone are connected to the mounted screw in the top region of the bone be a tension bond. 3D finite element models of fibula and tibia were generated based on computed tomography data are used for analysis. The model of fixation parts has been added to this model. The simulated results indicated that the most stress was created under the axial bending loads and the stress values decreased with the second technique. However, the results show that the displacement at the fracture under axial bending is more than torsion load. Because of high stresses in the holes of the plate in the first technique, it is recommended to use external fixation to improve this technique.