Foot & Ankle Q&A
What is an ankle Injury?
Ankle injuries are common amongst accident victims as well as athletes and active individuals. 85% of all ankle injuries are sprains, however an ankle injury may involve tearing of ankle ligaments or tendons, or even a fracture. Acute ankle sprains involve disruption of fibers of the lateral ankle ligaments, usually from a twisting injury. In most cases, the affected individual may experience, bruising, swelling, and have difficulty bearing weight on the injured foot or ankle.
What treatment options are available for a foot or ankle injury?
Ankle sprains that do not heal well or resolve result in instability of the ankle. Lateral ankle ligament repair/reconstruction is a common surgical procedure
undertaken in patients with chronic lateral ankle instability.
Surgical options may include:
Arthroscopy: During arthroscopy, your doctor uses a small camera, called an arthroscope, to look inside your ankle joint. Miniature instruments are used to remove any loose fragments of bone or cartilage, or parts of the ligament that may be caught in the joint. Some surgical techniques used to repair the foot and ankle involve reapproximating the torn ends of the tendon and reinforcing them with an adjoining tendon. These are surgical options for a more minimally invasive approach.
Reconstruction: Your doctor may be able to repair the torn ligament with stitches or sutures. In some cases, he or she will reconstruct the damaged ligament by replacing it with a tissue graft obtained from other ligaments and/or tendons found in the foot and around the ankle. Open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF) is the most frequently used procedure to repair ankle fractures. Open reduction refers to operative realignment of the fractured bones, and internal fixation refers to the use of metal plates and/or screws to secure the bones in the correct position.
Surgical treatment for ankle sprains is rare. Surgery is reserved for injuries that fail to respond to nonsurgical treatment, and for patients who experience persistent ankle instability after months of rehabilitation and nonsurgical treatment.