What's new in foot and ankle surgery

Arthroscopic-assisted fibular synthesis and syndesmotic stabilization of a complex unstable ankle injury

Traditional treatment of complex ankle fracture consists of open reduction and internal fixation. Nevertheless, this treatment can delay fracture healing and cause prolonged oedema. The surgeon should consider necessity of early recovery when treating athletes, especially football players. In this light, it was decided to perform an arthroscopy-assisted percutaneous minimal osteosynthesis of a fibular fracture together with a syndesmotic disruption in order to permit the patient, a 24-year-old male, to resume quicker and easier full sport activities. The outcome was good and allowed patient to play soccer since 6 months following surgery. The complete and detailed articular evaluation provided by the arthroscope permitted to manage carefully a complex articular traumatism, avoiding the necessity of plating the fracture and improving a rapid full recovery of the joint function.

Fragility fractures of the ankle: stabilisation with an expandable calcaneotalotibial nail

Fragility fractures of the ankle occur mainly in elderly osteoporotic women. They are inherently unstable and difficult to manage. There is a high incidence of complications with both non-operative and operative treatment. We treated 12 such fractures by closed reduction and stabilisation using a retrograde calcaneotalotibial expandable nail. The mean age of patients was 84 years (75 to 95). All were women and were able to walk fully weight-bearing after surgery. There were no wound complications. One patient died from a myocardial infarction 24 days after surgery. The 11 other patients were followed up for a mean of 67 weeks (39 to 104). All the fractures maintained satisfactory alignment and healed without delay. Six patients refused removal of the nail after union of the fracture. The functional rating using the scale of Olerud and Molander gave a mean score at follow-up of 61, compared with a pre-injury value of 70.