{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,14]],"date-time":"2026-09-14T13:08:39Z","timestamp":1789391319801,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":11,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"18","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,14]],"date-time":"2026-09-14T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1789344000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["J. Clin. Med.","JCM"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background\/Objectives: The rising fracture burden has strained healthcare systems, prompting a reassessment of standard practices. One of such practices\u2014the six-week postoperative outpatient visit and X-ray for lower extremity fractures\u2014remains standard, though its value in modern care is increasingly uncertain. Methods: This retrospective study examined patients with the most common lower extremity fractures (including proximal femur, femoral and tibia shaft and bi-\/tri-\/malleolar fractures) treated surgically at a Level 1 trauma center between January 2020 and March 2024. It focused on two outcomes on the six-week postoperative visit: Firstly, the incidence of radiographic abnormalities on X-rays taken\u2014defined as discrepancies compared to intra- or immediate postoperative images\u2014and their clinical relevance. Secondly, the incidence of deviations from local standard postoperative treatment and follow-up protocols. Abnormalities and deviations were classified as necessitating additional diagnostic tests, further therapeutic interventions, modifications to the standard postoperative regimen\u2014including immobilization, weightbearing status, and permitted range of motion (ROM). Results: A total of 275 patients were included. Deviations from standard care, based on the outpatient visit as a whole, occurred in 9%, rarely requiring reinterventions. Six-week X-rays abnormalities were found in 6%. Of all X-rays, only 2% had a clinical consequence; of those, one patient was asymptomatic. Conclusions: These findings suggest that routine six-week follow-up visits and radiographs after surgical treatment of common lower limb fractures seldom result in changes in clinical management. While the 6-week visit may provide additional value through assessment of functional recovery, rehabilitation guidance, reassurance, and addressing practical concerns, these benefits need to be balanced against the limited clinical yield of routine hospital-based follow-up. These findings therefore raise the question of whether a routine 6-week hospital visit and radiograph are warranted for every patient, and whether alternative models of follow-up, including physiotherapist-led assessment with selective referral to the treating hospital, could provide a more targeted approach.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/jcm15187124","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,14]],"date-time":"2026-09-14T12:09:51Z","timestamp":1789387791000},"page":"7124","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Routine 6-Week Outpatient Visit in Patients After Osteosynthesis of Lower Extremity Fractures: Is It Truly Necessary?"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2142-4430","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Stephanie","family":"Strauven-Heppner","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine, University of Lucerne, 6002 Lucerne, Switzerland"},{"name":"Department of Orthopedic and Trauma Surgery, Cantonal Hospital of Lucerne, 6004 Lucerne, Switzerland"},{"name":"Department of General Surgery, GFO Clinics Troisdorf, 53840 Troisdorf, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"conceptualization","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"visualization","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-original-draft","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"formal-analysis","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"investigation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"methodology","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"data-curation","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1882-8626","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Bryan J. M.","family":"van de Wall","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine, University of Lucerne, 6002 Lucerne, Switzerland"},{"name":"Department of Orthopedic and Trauma Surgery, Cantonal Hospital of Lucerne, 6004 Lucerne, Switzerland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0096-1755","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Steffen","family":"Geuss","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine, University of Lucerne, 6002 Lucerne, Switzerland"},{"name":"Department of Orthopedic and Trauma Surgery, Cantonal Hospital of Lucerne, 6004 Lucerne, Switzerland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"validation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-review-editing","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Lizzy","family":"Weigelt","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine, University of Lucerne, 6002 Lucerne, Switzerland"},{"name":"Department of Orthopedic and Trauma Surgery, Cantonal Hospital of Lucerne, 6004 Lucerne, Switzerland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"writing-review-editing","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"validation","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3289-6935","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Bj\u00f6rn-Christian","family":"Link","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine, University of Lucerne, 6002 Lucerne, Switzerland"},{"name":"Department of Orthopedic and Trauma Surgery, Cantonal Hospital of Lucerne, 6004 Lucerne, Switzerland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"writing-review-editing","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"validation","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Frank J. P.","family":"Beeres","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine, University of Lucerne, 6002 Lucerne, Switzerland"},{"name":"Department of Orthopedic and Trauma Surgery, Cantonal Hospital of Lucerne, 6004 Lucerne, Switzerland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,14]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Hemmann, P., Friederich, M., K\u00f6rner, D., Klopfer, T., and Bahrs, C. (2021). Changing epidemiology of lower extremity fractures in adults over a 15-year period\u2014A National Hospital Discharge Registry study. BMC Musculoskelet. Disord., 22.","DOI":"10.1186\/s12891-021-04291-9"},{"key":"ref_2","first-page":"665","article-title":"The Incidence of Fractures Among the Adult Population of Germany\u2014An analysis from 2009 through 2019","volume":"118","author":"Rupp","year":"2021","journal-title":"Dtsch. \u00c4rztebl. 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E-Collect."},{"key":"ref_9","first-page":"e24.00004","article-title":"When Things Go Wrong: A Guide to the Medical, Ethical, and Legal Dimensions of Surgical Complications","volume":"8","author":"Garcia","year":"2024","journal-title":"J. Am. Acad. Orthop. Surg. Glob. Res. Rev."},{"key":"ref_10","first-page":"1","article-title":"Administrative Compensation for Medical Injuries: Lessons from Three Foreign Systems","volume":"14","author":"Mello","year":"2011","journal-title":"Issue Brief (Commonw. Fund)"},{"key":"ref_11","first-page":"219","article-title":"Patients\u2019 memory for medical information","volume":"96","author":"Kessels","year":"2003","journal-title":"J. R. Soc. Med."}],"container-title":["Journal of Clinical Medicine"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2077-0383\/15\/18\/7124\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,14]],"date-time":"2026-09-14T12:52:19Z","timestamp":1789390339000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2077-0383\/15\/18\/7124"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,14]]},"references-count":11,"journal-issue":{"issue":"18","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9]]}},"alternative-id":["jcm15187124"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/jcm15187124","relation":{},"ISSN":["2077-0383"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2077-0383","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,14]]}}}