Managing lateral tibial plateau fractures by reversed 3.5 mm buttress plate: A report of four cases

Background: Tibial plateau fractures vary in severity and may be difficult to treat. The concept of ＂raft screws＂ -- inserting multiple 3.5 mm screws parallel and close to the articular surface -- has shown good results in preventing articular surface settling. Therefore, we hypothesized that the reverse side of the 3.5 mm buttress plate originally used for treating distal radial fractures may be used to treat plateau fractures. Methods: Herein, we report four cases of tibial plateau fractures with lateral tibial plateau fractures in which open reduction and internal fixation were performed using the reverse side of a 3.5 mm distal radius buttress plate. Results: All patients allowed full range of motion (ROM) initially after surgery. After 3 months, the bone healed well and full weight bearing of the affected knee was achieved. Conclusion: A reversed distal radius buttress plate could be used as an alternative option to achieve rigid fixation and early ROM in patients with lateral tibial plateau fractures.