Medial malleolus malunion with secondary tibiotalar and syndesmotic incongruence - two case reports and ''box resection'' for its treatment.

INTRODUCTION: Ankle fractures are among the most common injuries treated by orthopaedic surgeons. Malunion is one of the possible complications, and corrective surgery is often used to avoid long-term disability. However, few studies address medial malleolus malunion and the best revision surgery technique is controversial. We describe a new surgical technique, the "box resection". MATERIAL AND METHODS: We present two cases of medial malleolus malunion with secondary talus lateral translation and syndesmotic incongruence. In order to restore a congruent tibiotalar joint, we performed the described technique. RESULTS: We record significant improvement of AOFAS Score and range of motion in both cases, with resolution of pain symptoms. Postoperative radiographs show a congruent mortise with syndesmosis reduction. CONCLUSION: The box resection allowed immediate talus medial translation to its original position. It is a simple and effective solution, with a good functional outcome.

INTRODUCCIÓN: La consolidación viciosa del maléolo interno es una posible complicación en las fracturas maleolares. Su tratamiento es difícil y controvertido, por el momento no hay una solución estándar. Proponemos una nueva técnica quirúrgica para el tratamiento de estos casos que denominamos "resección en caja". MATERIAL Y MÉTODOS: Presentamos dos casos de consolidación viciosa del maléolo interno, asociados con traslación lateral del astrágalo y incongruencia de la sindesmosis, donde aplicamos la técnica quirúrgica descrita. RESULTADOS: En ambos casos, obtuvimos una mejora significativa en el puntaje AOFAS y en el rango de movilidad, así como en la resolución de las molestias por dolor. Las radiografías muestran mortajas congruentes y anatómicas, con una reducción satisfactoria de la sindesmosis. CONCLUSIÓN: La técnica de "resección en caja" es simple y eficaz produciendo un buen resultado clínico y funcional.

Medial malleolus malunion with secondary tibiotalar and syndesmotic incongruence - two case reports and «box resection¼ for its treatment / Mal unión del maléolo medial con incongruencia tibiotalar y sindesmótica: «resección en caja¼ para su tratamiento

Abstract: Introduction: Ankle fractures are among the most common injuries treated by orthopaedic surgeons. Malunion is one of the possible complications, and corrective surgery is often used to avoid long-term disability. However, few studies address medial malleolus malunion and the best revision surgery technique is controversial. We describe a new surgical technique, the «box resection¼. Material and methods: We present two cases of medial malleolus malunion with secondary talus lateral translation and syndesmotic incongruence. In order to restore a congruent tibiotalar joint, we performed the described technique. Results: We record significant improvement of AOFAS Score and range of motion in both cases, with resolution of pain symptoms. Postoperative radiographs show a congruent mortise with syndesmosis reduction. Conclusion: The box resection allowed immediate talus medial translation to its original position. It is a simple and effective solution, with a good functional outcome.

Resumen: Introducción: La consolidación viciosa del maléolo interno es una posible complicación en las fracturas maleolares. Su tratamiento es difícil y controvertido, por el momento no hay una solución estándar. Proponemos una nueva técnica quirúrgica para el tratamiento de estos casos que denominamos «resección en caja¼. Material y métodos: Presentamos dos casos de consolidación viciosa del maléolo interno, asociados con traslación lateral del astrágalo y incongruencia de la sindesmosis, donde aplicamos la técnica quirúrgica descrita. Resultados: En ambos casos, obtuvimos una mejora significativa en el puntaje AOFAS y en el rango de movilidad, así como en la resolución de las molestias por dolor. Las radiografías muestran mortajas congruentes y anatómicas, con una reducción satisfactoria de la sindesmosis. Conclusión: La técnica de «resección en caja¼ es simple y eficaz produciendo un buen resultado clínico y funcional.

Contact patterns in the ankle joint after lateral ligamentous injury during internal rotation: A computational study.

Lateral ankle instability, resulting from the inability of ankle ligaments to heal after injury, is believed to cause a change in the articular contact mechanics that may promote cartilage degeneration. Considering that lateral ligaments' insufficiency has been related to rotational instability of the talus, and that few studies have addressed the contact mechanics under this condition, the aim of this work was to evaluate if a purely rotational ankle instability could cause non-physiological changes in contact pressures in the ankle joint cartilages using the finite element method. A finite element model of a healthy ankle joint, including bones, cartilages and nine ligaments, was developed. Pure internal talus rotations of 3.67°, 9.6° and 13.43°, measured experimentally for three ligamentous configurations, were applied. The ligamentous configurations consisted in a healthy condition, an injured condition in which the anterior talofibular ligament was cut, and an injured condition in which the anterior talofibular and calcaneofibular ligaments were cut. For all simulations, the contact areas and maximum contact pressures were evaluated for each cartilage. The results showed not only an increase of the maximum contact pressures in the ankle cartilages, but also novel contact regions at the anteromedial and posterolateral sections of the talar cartilage with increasing internal rotation. The anteromedial and posterolateral contact regions observed due to pathological internal rotations of the talus are a computational evidence that supports the link between a pure rotational instability and the pattern of pathological cartilaginous load seen in patients with long-term lateral chronic ankle instability.

Gravity stress tibiotalar laxity evaluation with a biomedical gyroscopes device - cadaver study with progressive sectioning of lateral ankle ligaments.

PURPOSE: Despite the evidence on the role of gravity stress test to access the instability of other ankle injuries, there is limited literature regarding gravity stress on the lateral ankle ligament's insufficiency. The objective of our study was to objectively measure the tibiotalar angular movement under gravity stress after progressive sectioning of the lateral ankle ligaments. METHODS: We performed sequential sectioning of the anterior talofibular (ATFL), calcaneofibular (CFL), and posterior talofibular ligaments (PTFL) in twelve ankle specimens. Under gravity stress, we measured the angular movement of the talus in relation to the tibia. The measuring device is based on a three-axis gyroscope and accelerometer. RESULTS: Comparing to the intact condition, the plantar flexion increased on average 1.78° (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.15;2.42), 5.13° (95%CI 3.10;7.16) and 8.63° (95%CI 6.05;11.22), the rotation increased by 1.00° (95 CI -0.51;2.51), 3.68° (95%CI 1.97;5.40) and 15.62° (95%CI 10.09;21.14), and the varus increased 2.89° (95% CI 1.39, 4.39), 8.12° (95% CI 5.16, 11.07) and 11.68° (95% CI 7.91, 15.46), after sectioning the ATFL, CFL, and PTFL, respectively. The overall changes were statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: There was a significant tibiotalar laxity after sectioning of lateral ankle ligaments when the foot position is influenced only by gravity. The tibiotalar angular displacement was significant when the CFL and PTFL were cut which suggests that the gravity test could be used to assess combined lateral ankle ligament injury. This evidence might be a step forward in the development of lateral ankle ligaments gravity stress tests. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 5 (cadaver study).

Integration and Vascular Ingrowth of a Collagen Meniscal Implant: A Case Report.

Meniscectomy is the most common surgery in orthopaedics. The absence of meniscal tissue might be related to irreversible damage to the articular cartilage. Meniscal replacement is a tissue-engineering technique for post-meniscectomy syndrome. Its success depends on the implant integration which was vastly proven in animal model studies. Histological evidence is hard to obtain in humans due to ethical issues. We report a clinical case in which a collagen scaffold meniscal implant was harvested six months after implantation due to mechanical failure. Histological analysis was performed revealing vascularisation not only of the peripheral attachment of the implant but also on the anterior horn. These morphologic findings demonstrate that this implant allows the colonisation by precursor cells and vessels, leading to the formation of a fully functional tissue. This present report is one of the few independent reports of scaffold biological integration in the literature.

Integration and Vascular Ingrowth of a Collagen Meniscal Implant: A Case Report

@#Meniscectomy is the most common surgery in orthopaedics. The absence of meniscal tissue might be related to irreversible damage to the articular cartilage. Meniscal replacement is a tissue-engineering technique for postmeniscectomy syndrome. Its success depends on the implant integration which was vastly proven in animal model studies. Histological evidence is hard to obtain in humans due to ethical issues. We report a clinical case in which a collagen scaffold meniscal implant was harvested six months after implantation due to mechanical failure. Histological analysis was performed revealing vascularisation not only of the peripheral attachment of the implant but also on the anterior horn. These morphologic findings demonstrate that this implant allows the colonisation by precursor cells and vessels, leading to the formation of a fully functional tissue. This present report is one of the few independent reports of scaffold biological integration in the literature.