Our work is based on the analysis of 104 patients with suppurative posttraumatic osteoarthritis of the ankle joint.

By prolonged septic arthritis with degradation of articular surfaces of ankle and shin bones we used necrectomia with osteoarthrotomy and compression arthrodesis in the mechanism of external fixation, which allows to radically sanify the nidus of infection and eliminate the inflammatory process all together. This operation was performed for 68 patients.

Surgical treatment for 18 patients with septic arthritis of the ankle joint with considerable involvement of ankle joint metaepiphysis was performed in the following way. We performed segmental resection of the shin bone distal part, put in external fixation mechanism with the possibility of defect building, and then we performed the osteotomy of the shin bone in its upper one-third. On the 10th day we started performing building of defect by Ilizarov.

For six patients with ankle joint septic arthritis with considerable involvement of ankle bone we performed its subtotal resection and compression arthrodesis in the external fixation mechanism. For patients with total overall affection of the ankle bone we performed ankle bone excision and tibialcalcaneal fusion. For three patients we performed ankle bone excision with tibialcalcaneal fusion and external fixation. For nine patients where it was not possible to perform a single-stage fusion of shin and heel bones we used external fixation mechanism with the possibility to move the shin bone fragment. Then we performed open fusion of shin and heel bones.

The result was considered to be position (92% of patients) in case of extremity support ability recovery, suppurative process elimination and bony ankylosis achievement.

Original ankle joint injury nature and localization are very important in selecting the necessary surgical treatment variant.

Differential surgical treatment tactics selection for patients with suppurative ankle joint osteoarthritis together with adequate usage of conservative therapy allow to eliminate active purulo-necrotic process and restore the extremity support function for most patients.