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OBJECTIVE@#To study the effectiveness of TightRope elastic fixation combined with functional total repair of the inferior tibiofibular ligament in the treatment of distal tibiofibular syndesmosis injury.@*METHODS@#The clinical data of 34 patients with distal tibiofibular syndesmosis injury who met the selection criteria between January 2020 and January 2022 were retrospectively analyzed, and they were divided into improved group (TightRope elastic fixation combined with functional total repair of inferior tibiofibular ligament) and control group (distal tibiofibular screw fixation) according to the surgical methods, with 17 cases in each group. There was no significant difference in age, gender, body mass index, fracture type, and other baseline data between the two groups (P>0.05). The operation time, intraoperative blood loss, and complications were recorded in the two groups. The American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) score, ankle metatarsal flexion and dorsal extension range of motion were used to evaluate the ankle function. The patient satisfaction survey was conducted at last follow-up.@*RESULTS@#All 34 patients were followed up 8-20 months, with a median of 13 months. The operation time and intraoperative blood loss in the improved group were significantly longer than that in the control group (P<0.05). In the improved group, no infection or poor reduction occurred, and only 1 patient had TightRope knot reaction at 6 months after operation. In the control group, there were 2 cases of poor reduction, 1 case of lower tibiofibular screw rupture, and 1 case of subcutaneous infection (cured after anti-infection treatment). There was no significant difference in the incidence of complications between the two groups (P>0.05). At last follow-up, the AOFAS score and ankle metatarsal flexion and dorsal extension range of motion of the improved group were significantly better than those of the control group (P<0.05). The satisfaction rates of patients in the improved group and the control group were 94.1% and 82.4%, respectively, showing significant difference (P<0.05).@*CONCLUSION@#TightRope elastic fixation combined with functional total repair of inferior tibiofibular ligament in the treatment of distal tibiofibular syndesmosis injury has sufficient fixation strength, and can achieve better effectiveness and joint function compared with traditional screw fixation.
Subject(s)
Humans , Ankle Joint/surgery , Blood Loss, Surgical , Ligaments/surgery , Plastic Surgery Procedures , Retrospective Studies , Ankle Injuries/surgeryABSTRACT
Objective: To review the research progress in the diagnosis and treatment of distal tibiofibular syndesmosis injury. Methods: The recent literature about distal tibiofibular syndesmosis injury was reviewed and analyzed. Results: Distal tibiofibular syndesmosis injury is commonly seen in ankle joint injury, the anatomical complexities make diagnosis and treatment difficult. Preoperative physical examination, radiologic evaluation, and intraoperative stress-testing are important for the diagnosis. Aggressive treatment is also recommended for these injuries to prevent long-term chronic instability. Internal fixation is the main treatment, including metal screw, degradable screw, elastic fixation, and hybrid techniques. Metal screw fixation is still the current mainstream, but elastic fixation represented by Suture-button is more in line with the physiological characteristics of ankle joint, and the rate of secondary operation is low while the clinical outcome is satisfactory. The application prospect of elastic fixation is worthy of expectation. Conclusion: It's crucial for patient with ankle fracture to repair the distal tibiofibular syndesmosis injury. How to diagnose the injury more accurately and simply, how to increase the success rate of reduction, and how to reduce the complications of surgery are still worthy for further exploration.
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Objective To evaluate the clinical value of ankle arthroscopy in diagnosis and treatment of Danis-Weber type B ankle fracture associated with injury to the distal tibiofibular syndesmosis.Methods A retrospective study was conducted of the 35 patients who had been treated at Department of Orthopaedics,Ruijin Hospital North for Danis-Weber type B ankle fracture from February 2014 to December 2016.They were 23 males and 12 females,with an average age of 43.1 years (from 18 to 65 years).Each of them underwent 4 examinations to detect whether injury to the distal tibiofibular syndesmosis was complicated or not:preoperative CT and MRI,C-ann roentgenography and ankle arthroscopy before and after internal fixation of the ankle.The diagnostic rates of the complicated injury by the 4 examinations were compared.The patients complicated with injury to the distal tibiofibular syndesmosis received surgical repair of the injury using TightRope in addition to internal fixation of the ankle,and injury to the deltoid ligament was repaired simultaneously using 3.5 mm anchor nails in case the injury was concomitant.The repair and stability of the distal tibiofibular syndesmosis were observed using ankle arthroscopy again.Results The Cotton and external rotation tests under C-arm roentgenography before surgery and after internal fixation of the ankle demonstrated that 13 cases were complicated with injury to the distal tibiofibular syndesmosis.Of the other 22 patients who had not been diagnosed with the injury by C-arm roentgenography,6,13 and 11 were diagnosed with the injury respectively by CT,MRI and ankle arthroscopy.The diagnostic rates of Danis-Weber type B ankle fracture associated with injury to the distal tibiofibular syndesmosis were 37.1％ (13/35),54.3％ (19/35),74.3％ (26/35) and 68.6％ (24/35) respectively by C-arm roentgenography,CT,MRI and ankle arthroscopy.In the sensitivity to the injury,MRI ＞ ankle arthroscopy ＞ CT ＞ C-arm roentgenography,with significant differences between them (P ＜ 0.05).The ankle arthroscopy confirmed the repair efficacy in the 24 patients complicated with injury to the distal tibiofibular syndesmosis and negative results of Cotton and external rotation tests in them.Additionally,ankle arthroscopy revealed 16 cases of injury to the deltoid ligament at the medial ankle.Conclusions Ankle arthroscopy can provide evidence for correct diagnosis and treatment of Type B ankle fracture complicated with injury to the distal tibiofibular syndesmosis,because it allows direct observation of the medial deltoid ligament of the ankle and the distal tibiofibular syndesmosis.It can be also used to assess the stability of the tibiofibular syndesmosis after repair of the injury.
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Objective The article aims at evaluating the biological properties of tibiofibular titanium cable fixation device in terms of both anti-separation and stress shielding by comparison to the interior fixation with lag screw based on experimental observation. Methods Six corpse ankle specimens were first tested of pressure-separation and stress measurement, the data from which were compared to the normal group, and then a syndesmosis injury model was established. All the samples are randomly divided into 2 groups of 3 specimens each, which were treated with tibiofibula locked titanium cable and lag screw fixation respectively for syndesmosis injury. Then, the samples were tested for pressure-separation and stress measurement. The biomechanical properties as anti-separation ability and stress shielding were analyzed and compared between the two fixation method. Results Both tibiofibula locked titanium cables and lag screws were able to provide enough strong lateral anti-separation ability, but strong fixation screws were inferior to tibiofibular titanium cable fixation device in fibular longitudinal stress transduction. Conclusion Tibiofibular titanium cable fixation device not only provide sufficient lateral anti-separation, but also reduces the tibial and fibular longitudinal stress shielding, thus being superior to the traditional lag screw in biomechanical properties.