Background
Injury to the lateral ligaments of the ankle is one of the most common sports-related injuries. Although these injures generally resolve with nonoperative treatment, reconstruction of the lateral ligaments of the ankle is occasionally necessary. The percutaneous techniques are minimally invasive and minimize the postoperative morbidity. The purpose of our study was to evaluate the outcome of percutaneous lateral ligament reconstruction with an autograft.
Materials and methods
This study included 25 patients (19 male patients and six female patients) suffering from chronic tear of the lateral ligament of the ankle treated by reconstruction of the lateral ligament by autograft semitendinosus tendon. The age of these patients ranged between 23 and 49 years, with an average age of 34.24 years. The time to operation ranged between 13 and 26 weeks, with an average 18.16 weeks. The average preoperative visual analogue score was 8.16; the average preoperative American Orthopedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) score was 41.96; the average anterior drawer test was 10.56 mm; the average preoperative talocalcaneal angle was 17.64°; and the average preoperative talar tilt angle was 11.26°.
Results
The follow-up period ranged between 8 and 40 months, with an average of 24.64 months. The average postoperative visual analogue score was 2.32, the average postoperative AOFAS was 86.24, the average anterior drawer test was 4.92 mm, the average postoperative talar tilt angle was 3.41° in the standard stress radiograph of the subtalar joint, and the average postoperative talocalcaneal angle was 3.37°. Concerning patient satisfaction, 22 patients (88%) were satisfied with excellent or good results.
Conclusion
The proposed technique of reconstruction of the lateral ligament of the ankle using autograft semitendinosus tendon is minimally invasive, effective, and reliable. Long-term follow-up is needed.