Abstract:

Objective

To analyze the biomechanical advantages and disadvantages of posteriorlateral plates versus lateral plates in the treatment of supination-external rotaion type II fractures of the distal fibula.

Methods

The ankle fracture model and two plate models were created by using computer finite element software such as Medical 21.0， Geomagic and Solidworks. Ansys software was used to simulate the stress and fracture displacement of the ankle joint and plate models under two motion states， and to compare the biomechanical differences of the two plates in the treatment of ankle fractures.

Results

Under both loading conditions， the posterior-lateral plate exhibited superior performance compared to the lateral plate， as evidenced by lower stress values in the internal fixation model， overall stress in the fracture model， and stress distribution in the fibula model， along with improved displacement contour maps.

Conclusion

The posterior-lateral plate demonstrates superior biomechanical properties in terms of compressive strength and rotational stability compared to the lateral plate in the treatment of lateral malleolus fractures； coupled with its favorable soft tissue compatibility， the clinical application value of the new posterior-lateral plate is significantly greater than that of the lateral plate.

Key words: Computer-aided design, Ankle fractures, Bone plates, Finite element analysis