AN ANATOMICAL STUDY OF A NEW PORTAL FOR ANKLE ARTHROSCOPY

We describe a medial midline portal between the tendons of extensor ha llucis longus and tibialis anterior for arthroscopy of the ankle, We d issected 20 cadaver specimens to compare the risk of neurovascular inj ury using this approach with that of using standard arthroscopic porta ls, Compared with the anterocentral portal, the medial midline was a m ean of 11.2 mm further from the nearest branch of the superficial pero neal nerve and 10.3 mm further from the dorsalis pedis artery. This po rtal allows good access to the joint surface and intra-articular struc tures and has a lower risk of injury to the dorsalis pedis artery, dee p peroneal nerve or the medial branch of the superficial peroneal nerv e.