Study on Outcome of Complex Lower Limb Problems treated by Ring External Fixator and Evolvement of Practices toward its Acceptability

IntroductionIn the developing world, there is still lack of accessibility and availability of adequate health care. In rural population this further gets limited, due to meager immediate resource at disposition and lack of availability of transports to adequate set ups. This cross-sectional study is undertaken among our rural patients who had undergone this treatment to understand what difficulties they had faced during such treatments and their acceptability toward such treatment. This study was undertaken with the aim to find out the acceptability and adaptability among the rural population for Ilizarov ring fixators.Materials and methodsThe study consisted of 88 consecutive cases (91 lower limbs) of all age groups, who completed the treatment by Ilizarov methodology between July 2005 and July 2012. A retrospective analysis of the procedure was done through the medical records in terms of preoperative, intra­operative, and after the complete treatment. These were analyzed for limb lengthening in centimeters, correction of deformities, total wearing duration, and final outcome. Subsequently, these patients/parents were interviewed with a questionnaire to assess the self-accessibility (ease) toward self-care; self-distraction; self-adaptability–comfort during wearing time and the difficulties faced.ResultsOverall the functional outcome was excellent in 18, good in 50, fair in 8, and poor in 4. Out of 91 patients, 67 (73.6%) followed up and could be evaluated for adaptability toward Ilizarov fixator. Overall, 91.04% were satisfied with the treatment by Ilizarov fixator. In the remaining the main reason for not accepting the Ilizarov method was difficulty in commuting in the public transport, ugly and threatening looks of fixator with so many wires crossing the leg.ConclusionIlizarov method is a very effective tool for manag­ing the complex lower limb problems, especially among the population with low resources. It will ensure delivery of a very low-cost solution offered to the needy patients, wherein otherwise due to multiplicity of problems, integral solution is difficult to achieve within their resources.How to cite this articleShrivastava S, Khan SM, Rathi R, Mundada G, Singh PK, Taywade S. Study on Outcome of Complex Lower Limb Problems treated by Ring External Fixator and Evolvement of Practices toward its Acceptability. J Med Sci 2017;3(2):35-40.