Treatment of fractures of the tibial tuberosity in adolescent soccer players

Fractures of the tibial tuberosity are uncommon injuries that mainly occur in 14 to 16 year-old adolescents involved in sports activities. The mechanism of injury is related to jumping while practicing sports. This retrospective study presents the outcome of fractures of the tibial tuberosity in a series of 18 adolescent soccer players treated with the same surgical technique in one center. The hypothesis was that our surgical technique with two parallel screws, one proximal and one distal to the physis, avoids physis injury and has no repercussions on growth. The average age was 14.7 years. All patients were male. The fractures included 4 type IIA, 3 type IIB, 6 type IIIA, and 5 type IIIB (Ogden classification). All patients underwent open reduction and internal fixation consisting of screw placement parallel to the joint surface, sparing the tibial physis. There were no complications in any case, and all patients were able to resume their previous sports activities. The technique used appeared to be safe. Screws were removed in 8 patients owing to local discomfort. All patients achieved the same competition level as before the injury.