Abstract
1. Twenty-three patients were treated by cross screwing for diastasis of the tibia and fibula in fractures at the ankle.
2. It is suggested that limitation of ankle dorsiflexion after this treatment was caused by the presence of a mechanical block to dorsiflexion by spur formation at the margins of tibia and talus.
3. An ordinary bone screw controlled the diastasis satisfactorily in twenty patients.
4. The screw did not interfere with movement at the inferior tibio-fibular joint because bone resorption about that part of the screw in the fibula allowed a small range of movement.
5. Discomfort from the screw was relieved by its removal.
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