Absorbable Suture as a Preferred Option for Lateral Ankle Instability Repair

Adebola Tee Adeleke, Nathan Judd, Zflan Swayzee, J Joseph Anderson and Dallin Greene

Department of Podiatric Surgery, American Foundation of Lower Extremity Surgery and Research, USA
Department of Podiatric Surgery, New Mexico Bone and Joint Institute, USA
Department of Podiatric Surgery, Third Year Resident, United Health Services, USA

^*Correspondance to: Adebola T Adeleke 

 PDF  Full Text DOI: 10.25107/2474-1647.1516

Abstract

Lateral ankle instability is most commonly caused by inversion ankle sprains as these disrupt the soft tissue constraints of the ankle. Of the patients who suffer from an inversion ankle sprain, 50% will develop ankle pathology and up to 20% will develop chronic lateral ankle instability. Surgical intervention is necessary in those who do develop chronic ankle instability, usually utilizing the modified Brostrom procedure. This is a well-documented procedure that has historically relied primarily on the characteristics of suture material. It is shown, however, that non-absorbable sutures are used and that it can affect complication rates of the procedure. In this study we examine the use of absorbable suture for the modified Brostrom procedure and compare it to expected outcomes of the procedure. A total of 352 patients that underwent the Brostrom procedure were reviewed with an age range of 18-76, mean of 39.58 and a split of 202 males and 150 females. Visual analog scale pain scores and American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons hindfoot and ankle scores were taken preoperatively and postoperatively at 3, 12 and 24 months. The decrease in pain and increase in foot function values were deemed significant in improvement (p<0.01). Only 6 patients (1.7%) required revision due to re-injury. The results indicate that the use of absorbable suture is a viable means of performing the Brostrom procedure with a low complication rate which leads to long-term patient satisfaction.

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Cite the article

Adeleke AT, Judd N, Swayzee Z, Anderson JJ, Greene D. Absorbable Suture as a Preferred Option for Lateral Ankle Instability Repair. Clin Surg. 2017; 2: 1516.