Ertl below-knee amputation using a vascularized fibular strut in a nontrauma elderly population: a case series.

Background: Tibiofibular bone bridging (Ertl) during a below-knee amputation (BKA) is used to create a stable bony platform, granting the patient improved rotary stability, higher end bearing potential, and ultimately, more functional ambulatory ability. However, limited data are available in the literature on actual patient outcomes, despite numerous reports of the technique. The purpose of this study was to report our experience with distal tibiofibular bone bridging using a vascularized fibular bone graft in an elderly nontrauma population.

Outcomes after 294 transtibial amputations with the posterior myocutaneous flap.

The transtibial amputation is a common operation for which there is little agreement regarding which technique provides the most reliable and resilient outcomes. We performed a retrospective chart review of all transtibial amputations performed by a single surgeon between 2004 and 2011 using the posterior myocutaneous flap with triceps surae myodesis technique. A stepwise logistic regression analysis was performed to evaluate the association between independent variables and dependent outcome variables.