DIAGNOSIS OF RUPTURE OF THE ANTERIOR TIBI OFIBULAR SYNDESMOSIS VIA ULTRASONOGRAPHY

In a prospective trial we evaluated the diagnostic value of ultrasound imaging in the diagnosis of injuries to the anterior syndesmosis of t he ankle joint. In an initial series of 20 patients using a basic stan dard ultrasound machine (Siemens Sonoline SL 1 with a 7,5 MHz piece) a nd a simple dynamic testing protocol as described in this article we f ound a significant difference between the ultrasound result for the ru ptured syndesmosis versus non rupture and a specificity similar to tha t of arthrography. We conclude that ultrasound imaging is a useful too l in the diagnosis of syndesmotic rupture. Given the statistical signi ficance of these results we feel confident that - despite the small am ount of patients of this series and after an individual learning curve - ultrasound will eventually replace arthrography as the standard of investigation for this type of injury.