Functional outcomes and return-to-sports rate after modified Brostrom repair for lateral ankle instability with absorbable sutures and immediate postoperative weightbearing
Authors: Agrawal Somen , Keene Greg , Clayton James 
Published: June 2017

Category:

Sports

Introduction/Purpose:

The ankle is commonly injured in sporting activities occurring in up to 1 in 10,000 people a day. About 80% of ankle sprains recover with nonoperative management, with the remaining 20% of patients developing symptomatic instability requiring surgery. There are various surgical options being used, including anatomic repair (Brostrom technique and modifications), anatomic recon- struction with autograft or allograft, and nonanatomic reconstructions such as the Watson-Jones, Evans, and Chrisman-Snook procedures. The outcome of the direct anatomic repair is likely dependent on tissue quality, ability to tension the ligaments, and the security of the fixation. Secure fixation is critical to enable an early rehabilitation without compromising clinical outcome. We hypothesized that using absorbable suture for anatomic reconstruction is not only cost effective but also allows early rehabilitation with immediate postoperative weightbearing with good functional outcomes.

Methods:

The study included 71 patients presenting with chronic lateral ankle instability (who failed non-operative management) who underwent modified Brostrom repair by a single surgeon between Jan 2012 and Feb 2014.The anterior talofibular ligament and calcaneo- fibular ligament were anatomically repaired , and the repair was augmented with inferior extensor retinaculum proximal advancement, both with 1 vicryl suture. Full weight bearing in normal shoe was allowed from the day of surgery. Physiotherapy commenced prior to discharge from day surgery with gentle active range of motion, calf strength, and static peroneii exercises. From 3 to 4 weeks proprioceptive, theraband, and dynamic peroneal exercises were started. No boots, braces, or casts were used at any stage in the post-operative period. Patients were assessed preoperatively and at a minimum 2-year follow-up using the Foot and Ankle Outcome Score (FAOS). Complication, failure (recurrent instability), and return-to-sport rates were also recorded.

Results:

There were 41 were males and 30 females with mean age at surgery of 27 years (range 16 - 47 years), mean duration of symptoms of 2 years (range, 6 months to 8 years)and a mean follow-up duration of 34 months (range 24- 49 months). Significant improvement was seen in the FAOS from preoperatively to postoperatively (from 37 to 79): the pain subscale , the symptom subscale, the function subscale, the function in sports and recreation subscale, and the foot and ankle–related quality of life subscale improved from 38 to 79, 42 to 81, 43 to 82 , 31 to 79 and 32 to 77 respectively. All these findings were statistically significant. The failure rate was 4%, with 3 patients reporting instability after subsequent traumatic re-rupture. Two case of temporary neuropraxia of the superficial peroneal nerve was observed. Fifty four out of 71 patients were involved in sports prior to injury and forty seven (87%) returned to sport after reconstruction.

Conclusion:

This study demonstrates that lateral ligament reconstruction using absorbable sutures is an effective procedure for the treatment of chronic lateral ankle instability and allows immediate weight bearing. This allows a cost-effective approach to management with minimal impact on a patient’s activities of daily living in the post-operative period. The procedure also has high return-to-sport rate.