Abstract
We describe the surgical treatment of 13 cases of chronic lateral ankle instability and concomitant anterior tibiotalor bony impingement of the ankle in servicemen, professional and recreational athletes. All patients had symptoms and signs of lateral instability and a painful block to dorsiflexion. Two patients presented with recurrence of impingement after a previous debridement alone without an ankle stabilisation. The anterior osteophytes were debrided arthroscopically and a Brostrom-Gould open stabilisation performed. After a mean follow up period of 12 months (range 4–23 months), all 13 patients had mechanically and functionally stable ankles. The mean improvement in range of dorsiflexion was 9 degrees and all but 1 had improvement with respect to a subjective and functional outcome assessment. There have been no recurrences of impingement to date. Our results suggest that ankle stabilisation performed in conjunction with debridement of osteophytes may reduce the recurrence of exostoses as well as improving the outcome.
The abstracts were prepared by Wing Commander T. P. S. Bhullar. Correspondence should be addressed to him at the Ministry of Defence Hospital Unit, Edith Cavell Hospital, Bretton Gate, Peterborough PE3 9GZ.
