All-Arthroscopic Treatment of Schatzker Type III Lateral Tibial Plateau Fracture Without Fluoroscopy

Abstract

Tibial plateau fracture treatment remains challenging for orthopaedic surgeons around the world, especially in case of type III fractures according to the Schatzker classification, which are a pure depression of the lateral tibial plateau. Whereas open surgical procedures are associated with increased soft-tissue trauma because of the extent of the surgical approach and do not always allow for proper visualization of the fracture site, arthroscopic-assisted surgeries have been proven to have benefits over the former in terms of minimizing soft-tissue trauma, improved visual control of the fracture reduction, and the time of recovery. Most arthroscopic techniques, however, require using fluoroscopy. We present an all-arthroscopic procedure for Schatzker type III lateral tibial plateau fractures with using a trans-septal portal for visualization, which does not demand fluoroscopy.