title: Chronic lateral ankle instability: assessment of subjective outcomes following delayed primary repair and a new secondary reconstruction.
abstract: Chronic lateral ankle instability is a condition commonly encountered by the podiatric physician. Chronic instability usually occurs after injuries to the lateral collateral ligamentous complex. The purpose of this article is to report subjective results of a retrospective study comparing delayed primary ligamentous repair and a new secondary ligamentous reconstruction. Our patient population includes 23 patients who responded to a detailed questionnaire. Three patients had bilateral ligamentous repair for a total of 26 ankles. Sixteen ankles underwent delayed primary ligamentous repair, while 10 ankles had a secondary reconstruction utilizing the authors' technique. The overall postoperative improvement was 90% in those with a delayed primary repair and 82% in those with the new secondary reconstruction. The average return to full activity for both groups was 10 weeks. Average follow-up for both groups was 12 months. The authors feel these results demonstrate that delayed primary repair and the authors' new secondary reconstruction both provide favorable clinical and surgical outcomes.
authors.affiliation: Westland Medical Center, Columbus, OH 43228, USA.
authors.forename: L R
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Janis
authors.forename: R S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Kittleson
authors.forename: D G
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Cox
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D016512:Ankle Injuries / Q000150:complications; D000843:Ankle Joint; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007593:Joint Instability / Q000601:surgery*; D008023:Ligaments, Articular / Q000293:injuries / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011897:Random Allocation; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013180:Sprains and Strains / Q000150:complications; D013709:Tendon Transfer / Q000379:methods; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome