Surgical treatment of intraarticular fractures of the calcaneus: comparison between flat plate and calcaneal plate☆

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the clinical results of surgical treatment of intraarticular fractures of the calcaneus, comparing the use of calcaneal plate and flat plate. METHODS This was a retrospective study assessing the postoperative results of 25 patients between 2013 and 2015. Patients undergoing surgical treatment of intraarticular fractures of the calcaneus without concomitant surgical lesions were included. Patients who did not complete appropriate follow-up after surgery were excluded from the study. RESULTS The unavailability of calcaneal plates at resource-limited settings, associated with the availability and lower cost of flat plates, may have been a confounding factor in the present study. However, there was no statistical difference between the outcomes of fractures treated with calcaneal plates or flat plates. CONCLUSION Statistical inference shows that, when calcaneal plates are not available, it is possible to use flat plates with similar clinical outcomes.