Abstract
BACKGROUND: Corrective osteotomy is a technically challenging surgical option to improve wrist function in tilted distal radius malunions. However fracture healing in smokers is adversely affected. The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical and radiological effect of cigarettes on bone union in heavy-smokers who underwent corrective osteotomy with a triangular bone graft harvested from the iliac crest. METHOD: Fifteen patients, who were treated using trapezoidal block grafts taken from the iliac crest, who were smokers of 20 or more cigarettes daily (heavy smokers) with no chronic disease, and who consented to participate in the study. Fifteen non-smoker patients of the same age group were determined as the control group. Radiological measurements were made to include radial inclination and ulnar variance in pre-operative and post-operative radiographs. Functional evaluation was performed using Q-DASH and MAYO hand-wrist scores. RESULTS: In both groups, the mean age of the patients was 49,1 ± 3,92 years. Smokers group the bone union in the osteotomy line was observed after 16,63 (12-24 h) weeks, non-smokers grup 14.1 (12-24) weeks (p = 0.06). Range of motion is found similar clinic between in groups (p > 0.05). Q-DASH for group smokers was 17.54 ± 1.85, nonsmokers 17.20 ± 1.24 (p = 0,878); MAYO was 82.27 ± 6.06 for 82.00 ± 7.74 (p = 0.874). for group B. No statistically significant difference was noted between the groups. CONCLUSION: Our study showed that cigarette smoking did not have negative effect on union time in the metaphyseal region after correction osteotomy. The time of bone-union in heavy-smokers was 2.5 weeks more than that of non-smokers.