Locking versus nonlocking construct in an osteoporotic, segmental fibula defect model.

Early studies on the treatment of osteoporotic distal fibular fractures suggest that poor bone quality can compromise fixation and, therefore, clinical outcome. Multiple prior biomechanical studies evaluated length-stable fracture models with destructive load-to-failure protocols, which may not represent a clinically relevant failure mode. The current authors compared a lateral locked construct with 2 distinct nonlocked constructs in an osteoporotic, segmental fibula defect model.