[Arthroscopic diagnosis and treatment of posttraumatic chronic ankle pain].
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the arthroscopic diagnosis and treatment of the chronic ankle pain after injury.


METHODS
From April 1999 to June 2008, 39 patients with posttraumatic chronic ankle pain were treated. The mean duration between the initial injury and treatment was 18 months (2 months to 11 years). There were 15 males and 24 females with a mean age of 32 years (15 to 58 years). All the patients were treated with arthroscopic debridement. The preoperative and postoperative ankle functions were evaluated by the AOFAS (the American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society) Clinical Rating System for the ankle-hindfoot.


RESULTS
Twenty-six patients had osteochondral lesions. Impingement syndrome in ankle was observed in 21 patients. The impingement tissue included synovial hypertrophy in 3 patients, ligament injury in 10 patients (7 patients had anterior talofibular ligament injury and 3 patients had anteroinferior tibiofibular ligament injury), meniscoid tissue in 6 patients, pathological labrum in 3 patients. All the patients were followed up with an average of (14.2+/-8.4) months (ranged from 5 to 36 months). The AOFAS scores increased significantly from pre-operative (59.7+/-16.9) to post-operative (68.8+/-21.2), and it was obvious in relieving pain, which was pre-operative (22.8+/-10.0) and post-operative (29.5+/-12.1).


CONCLUSIONS
Arthroscopy can be used to diagnose the cause of chronic ankle pain after injury. Furthermore, arthroscopic debridement was useful to relieve the pain and improve the joint function, and it is appropriate for patients who had no fractures and dislocations.
Zhao
Qi-Chun
QC
Department of Orthopaedics, the Anhui Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230001, Anhui, China. qichzhao@163.com
Shang
Xi-Fu
XF
Cai
Dao-Zhang
DZ
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D016512:Ankle Injuries / Q000150:complications* / Q000601:surgery*; D000843:Ankle Joint / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D001182:Arthroscopy / Q000379:methods*; D003646:Debridement / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult