Foot and ankle fracture surgery
If you have a more serious fracture, surgery is usually necessary to repair the fracture as well as any ligaments, tendons and muscles that have been damaged. Our orthopaedic surgeons are experts in fracture repair of the foot and ankle. We have the expertise to treat complex cases, including broken bones that haven’t healed properly (called non-union) and other types of traumatic fractures.
For complex wounds of the foot, we have a unique program called the Orthoplastic Limb Salvage Center, where a specialized team of orthopaedic surgeons and plastic surgeons work together to determine a plan for reconstructive surgery and operate together. Orthopaedic foot and ankle surgeons have expertise in treating all types of bone fractures and performing bone-grafting procedures, while plastic surgeons have specialized training and knowledge of soft tissue injuries that may accompany traumatic fractures.
The Penn Orthoplastic Limb Salvage Center is the only program of this kind in the U.S. that provides this level of integrated care and expertise in microsurgical and complex fracture treatment. All of the surgeons are accustomed to treating injuries that require multiple surgeries at the same time, including re-plantation of limbs and toes and specialized microvascular procedures to repair bones and soft tissues. We consistently combine highly advanced surgical specialties that ensure the best possible outcome for more serious fractures and wounds of the foot and ankle and prevent limb amputation for those at risk.
Some of the surgical treatments for foot and ankle fractures that we often perform are fixation surgery, non-union surgical repair and reduction surgery.
If the fracture in your foot or ankle is displaced, or has caused misalignment of the bones, your orthopaedic surgeon will need to put the bones back into the correct position using specialized hardware such as plates, screws or pins. If necessary, we will perform bone grafting and may need to reconstruct soft tissues such as ligaments and tendons.
A non-union is a broken bone that did not heal properly. Treatment may entail surgery to remove an infection if present, to better stabilize the fracture, or to stimulate bone growth with a bone graft.
Our surgeons perform complex non-union surgical repair with vascularized bone grafting. Vascularized bone grafts allow living bone tissue to be transplanted to replace bone tissue that is damaged.
We are one of the few medical centers in the nation who perform vascularized bone grafting.
If the fracture in your foot or ankle is displaced, or has caused misalignment of the bones, your orthopaedic surgeon will need to put the bones back into the correct position using specialized hardware such as plates, screws or pins. If necessary, we will perform bone grafting and may need to reconstruct soft tissues such as ligaments and tendons.