Number of screws affecting the stability and stress distributions of conventional and locking compression plate: a finite element study

Abstract

The effectiveness of malleolar fracture fixation is still questionable. Internal fixator is the one of the treatment for treating this fracture. However, the analysis of various type of internal fixator is still lacking in the literature in terms of biomechanical characteristics and behaviour. Thus, the aim of the study was to compare the stability of locking compression plate (LCP) and one third tubular plate (OTT) in different configuration of screws. Computed Tomography (CT) images of bone was used to develop 3D model of fibula bone. The plate was constructed in Solidworks software and number of screws used were 3 and 5. Further, finite element study was conducted for both model. For LCP, the highest von Mises stress (VMS) observed at the plate for 3 screws was 484 MPa, whereas for 5 screws plate was 667 MPa. Besides, for OTT, the highest VMS at plate observed for 3 screws was 300.5 MPa, whereas for 5 screws plate was 127.5 MPa. Based on the results, it can be noted that the usage of 3 screws can causes a low VMS at plate compare to 5 screws. However, the relation is valid for LCP. For OTT, 5 screws constructs gave a low VMS than 3 screws constructs.