Anatomical reconstruction of ruptured lateral ligaments of upper ankle joint

Background and Aims: It seems that a certain patient population after conse rvatively treated ankle distorsions later develops chronic symptoms such as instability, pain and swelling. Material and Methods: The present study comprised 20 such patients, who und erwent an anatomical reconstruction of ruptured ankle ligament(s) (FC, FTA and/or FTP). Patients were followed in average for 22 months postoperativel y. Results: Sixteen of them had excellent or good results. Clinically 5 and ra diologically 4 patients had instability of the operatively treated ankle jo int at the follow-up. Instability and subjective patient satisfaction did n ot correlate at all. Conclusion: Anatomical reconstruction of ruptured ankle ligaments in chroni c posttraumatic instability syndrome is technically possible to perform in almost all cases. The present method of anatomical ligament reconstruction usually results in good stability, diminishes symptoms and in most cases le ads into a normal functional capacity.