New Fix Method Helps Heel Fractures Heal Faster With Less Risk

Older people with weak bones often break the back of their heel. This injury happens when the Achilles tendon pulls a piece of bone away. Doctors sort these breaks into three groups using the Beavis system. The first and third types leave tiny bone chips that screws cannot hold well. Regular open surgery cuts a long incision. That big cut often leads to dead skin and wounds that refuse to heal.

A research team tried a different trick. They used a special stitch pattern called a modified Bunnell suture. They threaded it through a tunnel drilled in the heel bone. This method lets the surgeon choose a tiny cut or a standard one depending on the case. The idea is to grip the bone firmly while being gentle to the skin and nerves.

Between January 2024 and February 2026 two patients got this treatment. One had a mixed type two and one fracture. That person needed the open approach. The other had a straight type two break. That person got the minimally invasive version. Surgeons checked the bone alignment right after surgery using the Burwell-Charnley scale. They tracked healing for about a year on average.

Both patients ended up with perfect bone alignment. Solid healing showed up at three months. Nothing shifted out of place. At six months the foot function scores were 83 and 96 out of 100. Ankle motion up and down fell in the normal range for both. The open surgery patient also had diabetes and extra weight. Their wound healed slowly but closed after a month of regular dressing changes. The minimally invasive patient had zero issues with skin nerves or the Achilles tendon.

This stitch plus tunnel technique seems to balance strong fixation with tissue safety. The smaller cut version cut the risk of wound trouble in this tiny series. More cases will tell if the benefit holds up across larger groups.