Comparative Study of Tissue Reaction Following Local-Made Plating and Imported Plating of Long Bone Fracture
Thavat Prasartritha MD*, Niwet Visetshaisee MD**
Affiliation : * Center of Excellence in Orthopedics, Lerdsin General Hospital, Bangkok, Thailand
Background : In the medical field, local made implants have been widely used throughout the country.
However, there is less available information regarding the quality and standard of the implant.
Objective : To compare the occurrence of biologic tissue reactions between the uses of imported versus local
plates.
Material and Method: Between September 2004 and July 2006, 40 united tibia fractures with satisfactory
outcomes and radiographic union were evaluated for tissue reaction. Twenty patients were fixed with
local plates and the other twenty patients were fixed with imported plates (AO brand). Informed consent
was obtained. The evaluation was performed blinded by one pathologist. Fibrosis, foreign body reaction,
inflammation, and the presence of metal particles were classified on a modified four-point scale, as described
by Mathiesen et al.
Results : There are 38 males and two females. The average age was 30.2 years (local) and 32 years (imported).
Four patients, two with imported plate and two with local plate, showed significant discoloration of soft tissue
adjacent to the plate. Histologically there was no significant difference between imported and local plates by
Chi-square test.
Conclusion : The current study emphasizes the clinical significance of corroded effects following metal
fixation. The present study did not reveal any significant difference in biologic reaction between local plate
and imported plate.
Keywords : Biologic tissue reaction, Plate fixation, Local made plate fixation, Long bone fracture
