by AceMedEd

Teach card · keep it in your scrub pocket

Tibial plateau fracture

Ask during the case

  1. On the first fluoroscopy shot: "Which Schatzker type is this, and what on the AP, the lateral or the CT told you?"
  2. During the exposure: "Which interval are we in right now, and which nerve or vessel is closest to us?"
  3. Before the drapes come down: "Which three checks do we do on this leg now and tonight, and why does this pattern make each one matter?"

Point at: the lateral meniscus lifted in the submeniscal arthrotomy with the joint surface under it, then the plateau line and the lateral tibial edge on the AP fluoroscopy shot.

End of day: "Draw me an AP knee with the six Schatzker types, then the proximal tibia slice with the two main approaches." Two minutes, no notes.

Where this kit and your technique differ, yours wins.

Send this to your students

The night before. They prep alone, redraw at turnover, and get a cold check tomorrow morning. They won't see these questions.

Open the student page

Reviewed by Mehdi “AC” Talle, D.O., November 2026. Sources: Netter, Gray's Anatomy and Hoppenfeld's surgical exposures, with Rockwood and Green for fractures. Teaching schematic, not to scale; anatomy and technique vary. Management and indications are left to you on purpose.