Surgical Approaches and Leg Positions for Tibial Plateau Fractures

Tibial plateau fractures are a common orthopedic injury. Epidemiological studies have shown that these injuries appear in younger or older patients with different mechanisms of injury. For better long-term results, it is crucial to achieve successful fracture reduction, thus avoiding the main complication, which is post-traumatic arthritis. Reduction can be achieved by choosing the proper surgical approach. Many approaches that address the fractures of the tibial plateau have been described in international literature. In the past, the direct anterior midline approach was used, which required a large detachment of the soft tissues. Nowadays, the percutaneous approach, the anterolateral approach, the medial approach, the posteromedial approach, the posterolateral approach, and the direct posterior approach are used by orthopedic surgeons to treat these kinds of fractures. In this chapter, we will describe the surgical approaches available for tibial plateau fractures and the possible positions of the affected leg