Platelet Rich Plasma Injection in Pilon Fractures

Patients who sustain broken ankles have a very high risk of developing arthritis soon after their injury (within 2 years). This arthritis can cause increased pain and decreased level of function, especially if the injury occurs at an early age. During and shortly after the ankle injury, there is an inflammatory chemical processes that take place in the ankle that can cause damage to the cartilage in the ankle joint. Currently the treatment for this injury is doing surgery is a two step process. When the patient has an ankle fracture, surgeons will stabilize the fracture with an external fixation device to allow ankle swelling to decrease which has been shown improve outcomes within a few hours. After about 10 days the patient will come back for their final surgery in which surgeons will open the ankle joint and make sure that the joint lines up and fix it with plates and screws. There is no intervention that is done with regards to the physiologic process that goes on inside the ankle joint when the ankle is injured. This is what the investigators intend to study. There is a very large destructive process that may contribute with the early development to arthritis. The investigators would like to see the effect of this inflammatory response with the addition of platelet rich plasma (PRP) which is produced from a small vial of the patient's own blood. PRP has been used safely in patients with osteoarthritis and has been shown to slow the progression and improve pain scores. PRP is made by spinning the patient's blood in a centrifuge which separates the blood cells from each other. The bloods cells that are anti-inflammatory in nature are taken and placed in another syringe. This is a blinded randomized control study. There will be two groups in which the patients will randomize into: PRP group, or Normal Saline Group. In both groups, the investigator's plan is to withdraw joint fluid from both the injured and uninjured ankle at the time of the first surgery as to analyze the joint fluid from both ankles. Participants who are randomized into the PRP group will receive PRP in the injured ankle at the time of the first surgery when the external fixator is placed. Participants who are randomized into the Normal Saline group will receive Normal Saline in the injured ankle at the time of the first surgery when the external fixator is placed. After 7-14 days the participant will return and have their second surgery for definitive fixation. At the time of surgery, joint fluid will again be taken out of the joint for analysis to see if the PRP decreased the anti-inflammatory cells decreased inflammation. After the second surgery the participant will be followed up in the clinic in a regular manner.