A young man had an open fracture of the tibia with bone and soft tissue loss in the
distal part of the left leg following a crush injury. The circumferential skin defect
was successfully treated with controlled lengthening of the distal skin by the Ilizarov
technique using nylon wires and skin staples to apply traction. This was combined
with limb reconstruction done simultaneously using orthofix external fixator. This
case report highlights the use of an orthopaedic technique to provide skin cover in
distal leg.
KEY WORDS
Circumferential skin loss - Ilizarov technique - distal leg soft tissue loss - skin
elongation - open fracture tibia
