Abstract:Objective To observe the fracture healing situation and the efficacy of functional recovery of intra-articular knee fracture after minimally invasive plate osteosynthesis(MIPO). Methods Fifty-one patients with intra-articular knee fracture received from February 2014 to December 2015 in Anhui No.2 Provincial People's Hospital were divided into minimally invasive treatment group (MIPO group，n=25) and open reduction control group (ORIF group, n=26). MIPO was performed in MIPO group, and open reduction and plate internal fixation (ORIF) was performed in ORIF group. The patients in two groups were followed up for 6 to 24 months after operation. Postoperative callus forming time, fracture clinical healing time, bone healing time, range of motion (ROM) of knee joint after operation were observed in two groups. Knee joint function and clinical efficacy were evaluated. The adverse reactions such as infection, hematoma and so on in the process of postoperative recovery were observed. Results The time of callus occurrence, fracture clinical healing time and bone healing time after operation in MIPO group were significantly shorter than those in ORIF group[(6.04±0.38)weeks vs (8.11±0.49) weeks, (9.87±1.12)weeks vs (11.94±1.65)weeks, (10.08±1.26)weeks vs (12.61±1.74)weeks, all P<0.01]. The knee joint score for HSS in MIPO group was significantly higher than that in ORIF group(87.52±3.68 vs 83.45±3.57, P<0.05). ROM of knee joint after operation in minimally invasive treatment group was significantly larger than that in ORIF control group [(127.68±9.14)° vs (115.87±7.92)°, P<0.01]. The excellent and good rate of knee joint functions after operation in MIPO group was significantly higher than that in ORIF group (92.00% vs 61.54%, P<0.05). The incidence of postoperative complications in MIPO group was significantly lower than that in ORIF group (4.00% vs 30.77%, P<0.05). Conclusion MIPO has significant advantages in fracture healing and knee joint function recovery for the treatment of intra-articular knee fracture and can reduce the occurrence of complications.