RESUMEN
PURPOSE: Rotational ankle instability can be diagnosed in up to 18% of cases of chronic lateral ankle instability. It is characterised by an abnormal increase of talar rotation within the tibiofibular mortise, due to an injury in the most anterior component of the deltoid ligament secondary to a chronic deficiency of the lateral collateral ligament. The aim of this prospective observational study was to investigate the clinical outcomes following arthroscopic all-inside medial and lateral ligament reconstruction for rotational ankle instability. METHODS: A prospective observational study of consecutive patients undergoing arthroscopic all-inside medial and lateral ligament reconstruction for rotational ankle instability with minimum 6-month follow-up. The primary outcome was a validated patient-reported outcome measure (PROM), the Manchester-Oxford Foot Questionnaire. Secondary outcomes included the EQ-5D, European Foot and Ankle Society score and complications. RESULTS: Between 2020 and 2023, 12 patients underwent primary arthroscopic all-inside medial and lateral ligament reconstruction for rotational ankle instability with pre- and post-operative PROMs available for all 12 patients. The mean ± standard deviation age was 33.9 ± 7.2 years and the mean follow-up was 1.9 ± 1.2 (range: 0.5-3.8, interquartile range: 0.9-3.0) years. There was a significant improvement in all Manchester-Oxford Foot Questionnaire domain scores (p < 0.05): Index 53.1 ± 19.1 to 26.4 ± 27.6, Pain 46.7 ± 20.3 to 26.2 ± 26.8, Walking/Standing 58.7 ± 26.0 to 27.0 ± 30.0 and Social Interaction 51.2 ± 19.5 to 25.6 ± 30.1. There were improvements in EQ-5D-5L Index, VAS and VAS Pain; however, these were not statistically significant. There was one complication-a superficial peroneal nerve injury which resolved with a corticosteroid injection. CONCLUSION: The arthroscopic all-inside medial and lateral ligament reconstruction technique is a reliable and safe method for treating rotational ankle instability, demonstrating significant improvement in PROMs at a mean 1.9-year follow-up. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level IV.
RESUMEN
Background: Injury to the lateral collateral ligament of the ankle may cause ankle instability and, when combined with deltoid ligament (DL) injury, may lead to a more complex situation known as rotational ankle instability (RAI). It is unclear how DL rupture interferes with the mechanical function of an ankle joint with RAI. Purpose: To study the influence of DL injury on the biomechanical function of the ankle joint. Methods: A comprehensive finite element model of an ankle joint, incorporating detailed ligaments, was developed from MRI scans of an adult female. A range of ligament injury scenarios were simulated in the ankle joint model, which was then subjected to a static standing load of 300 N and a 1.5 Nm internal and external rotation torque. The analysis focused on comparing the distribution and peak values of von Mises stress in the articular cartilages of both the tibia and talus and measuring the talus rotation angle and contact area of the talocrural joint. Results: The dimensions and location of insertion points of ligaments in the finite element ankle model were adopted from previous anatomical research and dissection studies. The anterior drawer distance in the finite element model was within 6.5% of the anatomical range, and the talus tilt angle was within 3% of anatomical results. During static standing, a combined rupture of the anterior talofibular ligament (ATFL) and anterior tibiotalar ligament (ATTL) generates new stress concentrations on the talus cartilage, which markedly increases the joint contact area and stress on the cartilage. During static standing with external rotation, the anterior talofibular ligament and anterior tibiotalar ligament ruptured the ankle's rotational angle by 21.8% compared to an intact joint. In contrast, static standing with internal rotation led to a similar increase in stress and a nearly 2.5 times increase in the talus rotational angle. Conclusion: Injury to the DL altered the stress distribution in the tibiotalar joint and increased the talus rotation angle when subjected to a rotational torque, which may increase the risk of RAI. When treating RAI, it is essential to address not only multi-band DL injuries but also single-band deep DL injuries, especially those affecting the ATTL.
RESUMEN
PURPOSE: Rotational ankle instability is a multiligamentous injury defined as an overload injury of the deltoid ligament caused by a long-standing injury of the lateral collateral ligament in patients affected by chronic ankle instability. The purpose of the study was to compare the clinical outcomes of combined arthroscopic repair of lateral and medial ankle ligaments for rotational ankle instability versus isolated arthroscopic lateral ligament repair for lateral ankle instability at 2 years' follow-up. METHODS: Between 2019 and 2021, 108 patients with chronic ankle instability were consecutively treated by arthroscopy. Of this group, 83 patients (77%) [median age: 26 (range, 14-77) years] underwent an isolated all-inside lateral ligament repair for lateral ankle instability (group A). In the remaining 25 patients (23%) [median age: 27 (range, 17-58) years], rotational ankle instability was clinically suspected and confirmed during arthroscopy; thus, a combined all-inside repair of lateral and medial ligaments was performed (group B). The same postoperative protocol was utilised for both groups. Patients were prospectively evaluated before surgery, at 3, 6, 12 and 24 months with Foot Functional Index (FFI) score, visual analogue scale (VAS) and Foot and Ankle Ability Measure-Sports subscale (FAAM-SS). At the latest follow-up, the satisfaction rate and complications were also recorded. RESULTS: In both groups, FFI, VAS and FAAM-SS scores significantly improved compared to preoperative values (p < 0.001). In addition, according to all the scores evaluated, there was no significative difference (n.s) between groups at the final follow-up or at any of the intermediate follow-up. No major complications were observed in both groups. CONCLUSIONS: Arthroscopic ligament repair in case of ankle multiligamentous injuries, such as in rotational ankle instability, provides excellent clinical outcomes and is comparable to isolated lateral ligament repair at 2 years' follow-up. Therefore, when treating ankle instability, arthroscopic repair of each and every ligament that appears injured provides the best potential outcomes and is the recommended treatment. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level II, prospective comparative.
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PURPOSE: To compare the clinical and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) results after arthroscopic deltoid ligament (DL) repair versus DL nonrepair in patients with rotational ankle instability. METHODS: All patients with rotational ankle instability were enrolled in this retrospective cohort study. Clinical evaluation was performed by the American Orthopedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) score, Karlsson Ankle Functional Score (KAFS), and Tegner activity score preoperatively and at a minimum follow-up of 2 years. MRI at follow-up was performed to evaluate the DL morphology. RESULTS: A total of 50 patients were enrolled in this study. Among them, 24 patients received DL repair (the repair group), whereas 26 patients did not (the nonrepair group). No significant difference was found in the AOFAS score (98 ± 4 vs. 97 ± 4; n.s.), KAFS (94 ± 7 vs. 93 ± 9; n.s.), or Tegner activity score (5 ± 2 vs. 5 ± 1; n.s.) between the repair group and the nonrepair group at the final follow-up. However, the repair group had a significantly shorter return-to-sport time than the nonrepair group (4.6 ± 1.6 mo vs. 6.0 ± 2.5 mo; p = 0.03). Comparison of the postoperative deltoid ligament showed that the repair group had a lower signal intensity than the nonrepair group. CONCLUSION: Arthroscopic treatment of rotational ankle instability revealed good to excellent clinical results. However, patients who underwent DL repair had a significantly earlier return to sports as well as a lower signal intensity of DL than those who did not undergo DL repair. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level III.
Asunto(s)
Inestabilidad de la Articulación , Ligamentos Laterales del Tobillo , Humanos , Ligamentos Laterales del Tobillo/cirugía , Tobillo , Estudios Retrospectivos , Artroscopía/métodos , Ligamentos , Inestabilidad de la Articulación/cirugíaRESUMEN
An increased interest in ankle instability has led to description of new concepts such as ankle microinstability or rotational ankle instability and the development of new arthroscopic techniques treating ankle instability. Ankle instability is constantly associated to intraarticular pathologies that contribute to generate pain and dysfunction. Arthroscopy plays an important role in identifying and treating all intraarticular abnormalities including ligament injuries. Despite a few studies are available in literature on arthroscopic treatment of medial collateral ligament injury, an arthroscopic all-inside repair of lateral and medial ankle ligaments has been proposed showing promising clinical results.
Asunto(s)
Traumatismos del Tobillo , Inestabilidad de la Articulación , Ligamentos Laterales del Tobillo , Traumatismos del Tobillo/diagnóstico , Traumatismos del Tobillo/cirugía , Articulación del Tobillo/cirugía , Artroscopía , Humanos , Inestabilidad de la Articulación/diagnóstico , Inestabilidad de la Articulación/etiología , Inestabilidad de la Articulación/cirugía , Ligamentos Laterales del Tobillo/cirugía , Ligamentos Articulares/cirugíaRESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Rotational ankle instability (RAI) is associated with the faster onset of severe ankle osteoarthritis via dysfunction of the anterior talofibular ligament, calcaneofibular ligament, and deltoid ligament. No specific clinical examination is available for RAI, and diagnostic imaging has limitations in evaluating ligament degradation. This study investigated the deltoid ligament degeneration using Hounsfield unit (HU) values on computed tomography (CT) images. METHODS: Patients were enrolled in this retrospective analysis if they had undergone magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and CT scans of the ankle. The chronic ankle instability (CAI) group comprised 20 ankles with CAI (9 men, 11 women; mean age, 28.7 years) and the control group comprised 28 ankles (16 men, 12 women, mean age, 41.3 years). The average HU values of the deep posterior tibiotalar ligament (dPTL) that constitutes the deltoid ligament were measured on coronal CT images, and MRI results were used as a reference. All patients were subdivided based on the MRI findings of dPTL injury such as fascicular disruption, irregularity, and the loss of striation. RESULTS: A strong negative correlation was identified between age and HU values for all patients (Spearman ρ = -0.63; P < .001). The mean HU values of the dPTL for participants aged <60 years were 81.0 HU for the control group (21 ankles) and 69.5 HU for the CAI group (P = .0075). No significant differences in the HU values were observed for the dPTL among the MRI subgroups. CONCLUSION: In addition to the conventional imaging examination such as stress radiographs and MRI, HU measurements of CT images could be useful for quantitatively and noninvasively evaluating degenerative changes in the deltoid ligament for CAI patients to assist the diagnosis of RAI. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level III. case-control study.