Isolated „Tillaux“ fracture in adulthood: rarity where the key of success is not to miss it

BACKGROUND Fracture of the lateral border of the distal tibia is often referred as Tillaux fracture. It is an avulsion fracture due to the tension of the anteroinferior portion of the anterior tibiofibular ligament (1). This type of fracture is scarce in adulthood and can be easily overlooked. METHODS From 2006 to the present day, 7 case reports describing the Tillaux fracture were found in the PubMed and Web of Science database, to which one case from our set of patients was added. Our goal was to focus on the diagnostic and a selected treatment described in each published case. RESULTS We found no gender difference. The injury mechanism was mostly an external rotation. Treatment and diagnosis were, in all cases differentiated at specific points. Fixation and load reduction were indicated at least for six weeks in all of the patients. After three months, in almost all cases, a return to full function was achieved. CONCLUSION Our assessments are not statistically significant, but our goal was to point out the existence of such a rare type of fracture. At the same time, based on previous publications, we developed an algorithm of diagnosis and treatment to facilitate the management of this type of fracture (Tab. 1, Fig. 5, Scheme 1, Ref. 21).