{
  "abstract": "This report presents a polytrauma patient with a pelvic ring injury, multiple lower extremity fractures and a mangled left lower leg. After initial vascular repair and a temporising external fixation, the patient’s injuries were sequentially addressed. The left tibia was stabilised with an Ilizarov apparatus. Extensive bone and soft tissue damage necessitated the excision of a non-viable tibial shaft segment, enabling the creation of an artificial deformity for extensive temporary soft tissue coverage. Nursing and soft tissue management involved negative pressure wound therapy, copper-ion dressings, quilting metal sutures and wide skin grafts to build a soft tissue infrastructure to return to normal lower-leg length and alignment. The critical bone loss was managed by ‘tibialising’ the fractured fibula, conversion of the Ilizarov apparatus to an antibiotic-impregnated intramedullary nail and a custom-made brace. Rehabilitation resulted in an infection-free and pain-free limb with a near-normal gait.",
  "authors": [
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Division of Orthopaedic Surgery, Rambam Health Care Campus, Haifa, Haifa District, Israel",
        "Rappaport School of Medicine, Technion Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Haifa District, Israel"
      ],
      "name": "Gabriel Nierenberg"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Ziv Medical Centre, Safed, Israel"
      ],
      "name": "Alexander Lerner"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Ziv Medical Centre, Safed, Israel"
      ],
      "name": "Alexander Chelnokov"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Division of Orthopaedic Surgery, Rambam Health Care Campus, Haifa, Haifa District, Israel",
        "Rappaport School of Medicine, Technion Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Haifa District, Israel"
      ],
      "name": "Eran Keltz"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Limb salvage in polytrauma—pushing the boundaries",
  "uid": "7721236a-72cc-5760-82d6-96b0c92c4d35"
}