title: Late results of surgical repair in recent ruptures of the lateral ligament of the ankle.
abstract: Between 1979 and 1994, 75 patients underwent primary repair of a Grade III rupture of the lateral ligament of the ankle. The operation was indicated after the demonstration of ankle instability on stress X-rays by anterior displacement of the talus by more than 8 mm or/and a talar tilt of more than 10 degrees. The patients were either young or engaged in sports activities or physically demanding jobs. An end-to-end suture of the torn ligament was undertaken under general anaesthesia. A non-weight-bearing cast was used for the first 2 weeks, followed by a walking cast until 6 weeks postoperatively. Sixty-one patients were followed up for 1-15 years (mean 10.3 years). At follow-up all but one patient had returned to their pre-injury level of activity without complaint or restriction.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedics, Athens University, Hellenic Republic, Greece.
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Agoropoulos
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Papachristou
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Efstathopoulos
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kokoroghiannis
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D017844:Lateral Ligament, Ankle / Q000293:injuries* / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011182:Postoperative Care / Q000379:methods; D012421:Rupture / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000534:rehabilitation / Q000601:surgery; D016896:Treatment Outcome