This is a plain-English translation of the academic paper above, prepared for patients, referring clinicians, and other non-specialist readers. It preserves the structure of the original paper while removing technical jargon. For the full clinical paper, follow the PubMed or DOI links.
Background
Outcomes of treating Lisfranc injuries (a serious midfoot ligament-and-bone disruption) with a dorsal bridge plate — and leaving that plate in long-term, rather than routinely removing it.
Rationale
Lisfranc injuries are notoriously hard to treat well. The bridge plate — a plate that spans the affected joints from the top of the foot — provides strong fixation, but historically surgeons have removed it once the bone has healed. We wanted to know whether routinely leaving the plate in changed outcomes.
Results
Across 85 patients followed for an average of 40 months, we got functional outcomes comparable to the published literature where plates are routinely removed. About one in five patients still needed the plate removed eventually (more often in women), and 9% needed a secondary fusion. Outcomes were worse in patients whose injury had broken the joint surface.
Implications
If you have a Lisfranc injury treated with a dorsal bridge plate, the plate doesn’t need to come out routinely. About one in five patients will eventually want it removed; the rest do well leaving it where it is.
Source: Onochie E, Bua N, Mmerem K, Heidari N, Vris A, Malagelada F, Parker L, Jeyaseelan L. Functional Outcomes of Dorsal Bridge Plating for Lisfranc Injuries With Routine Implant Retention: A Major Trauma Center Experience. Journal of Orthopaedic Trauma 2023;37(1):e22–e27. PMID: 35947752.
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