Posttraumatic Absence of the Lower Half of the Tibia

A male patient presented to us with bone lossBone loss of the lower half of the tibia and fibula due to car accident 1 month ago. There was no soft tissue defect. Ilizarov external fixator was mounted to the tibia and calcaneus using 1.8 mm K-wires. Corticotomy was performed in the upper tibia. The waiting period was 2 weeks. Then, bone transport was carried out at a rate of 1 mm per day. The regenerate magnitude was 22 cm. After the distal part of the tibia reached the talus, we did debridement of the upper surface of the talus and the lower tibia, and compression was applied. Complete union of the docking site occurred after 6 months. The patient stayed in the frame for 24 months. The complications were trivial: pin tract infection, which responded to antibiotics, and 15° flexion deformity, which resolved completely after 3 months of fixator removal. The patient regained his pre-operative job as a manual laborer after 5 months of fixator removal.