Computer Aided Pre-operative Planning of Fracture Reduction and Deformity Correction in Tibia with Hexapod External Fixator

INTRODUCTION When the Ilizarov external fixator is used for fracture reduction and deformity correction, the planning for correction of 3-D multiple deformities is difficult due to the lack of information on required joint rotations and translations in order to correct the deformities [1]. In addition, if the rotational axis is not placed exactly with respect to axis of the deformity, the rotation may generate the unwanted translational shift at the fracture site [1, 2]. Hexapod external fixator, which is also known as the Taylor spatial frame, has an advantage to kinematically calculate the necessary translations of the telescopic struts in order to correct any 3-D deformities at the fracture site. The purpose of this study was to perform computer aided pre-operative planning of fracture reduction and deformity correction in tibia with single or double hexapod fixator system and to compare the results with the clinical ones.