• Daniel W R Seng, Chang-Wug Oh, Joon-Woo Kim, Kyeong-Hyeon Park, Jong-Keon Oh, and Yong-Cheol Yoon.
• Department of Orthopaedic Surgery. Woodlands Health, National Health Group, Singapore, Singapore.
• Arch Orthop Trauma Surg. 2024 Feb 28.

IntroductionThe treatment of segmental tibial bone defects remains a surgical challenge. While Bone Transport (BT) and Induced Membrane Technique (IMT) are effective strategies for regenerating bone, there are few comparative studies between them. This investigation undertakes a comparative analysis of BT and IMT for large segmental tibial defects stabilised through plate fixation.Materials And MethodsPatients with segmental tibial defects exceeding 5 cm were prospectively enrolled from 2008 to 2021 in a single institution, with a minimum follow-up duration of two years. All patients underwent either BT or IMT with plate fixation of the tibia. Procedural success, primary union as well as bone and functional outcome scores were compared. Complications, including non-unions, joint contractures and deep infections requiring surgical intervention, were also compared.Results41 patients were recruited in total. 28 patients underwent Bone Transport Over a Plate (BTOP), while 13 patients underwent IMT with Plate fixation (IMTP). The procedural success rate trended higher in IMTP compared to BTOP (100% vs. 85.7%). The primary union rate also trended higher in IMTP compared to BTOP (92.3% vs. 79.2%). BTOP and IMTP achieved similar rates of satisfactory bone outcome scores (78.6% vs. 84.6%) and functional outcome scores (75% vs. 76.5%). There was no statistical difference between procedural success, primary union, bone and functional outcome scores. The complication rate in BTOP was 78.6% (22 of 28), including five docking site or regenerate non-unions, eight deep infections and nine joint contractures. IMTP had a 38.5% (5 of 13) complication rate, including one non-union, two deep infections and two joint contractures. The complication rate was 2.04 times higher in BTOP compared to IMTP (p = 0.0117).ConclusionsBTOP and IMTP are both equally effective techniques for regenerating bone in large tibial bone defects. However, IMTP may be a safer procedure than BTOP, with a lower probability of requiring additional procedures to address complications.© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.

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