gms | German Medical Science

Ligament injuries of the ankle joint are one of the most frequent injuries during athletic activities.

In the majority of the ankle sprains the anterior talofibular ligament is affected. Injuries of the anterior talofibular ligament and the calcaneofibular ligament are described in up to 60% of all cases.

In the vast majority of the patients regain full function without any restrictions with conservative therapy.

In few cases the ankle sprains become chronic with recurrent episodes of instability.

In chronic ankle ligament injuries orthotic treatment is not sufficient. All present surgical techniques have advantages and disadvantages.

We present a new surgical technique for the treatment of chronic lateral ankle instability with a semitendinosus- or gracilis tendon transfer to reconstruct anatomically the anterior talofibular - and calcaneofibular ligaments. The peroneal tendons are avoided in this technique.

The fixation with a bioabsorbable-screw allows early postoperative mobilisation with full weight bearing after three weeks in an ankle brace.

We report about preliminary results of thirteen patients with chronic ankle instability surgically treated with the described hamstring technique.

All patients underwent preoperative and postoperative physical assessment including conventional radiographic x-rays with talar tilt -and anterior drawer stress.

Based on our preliminary results, -with preliminary good to excellent results-, we think that with this easy and effective surgical reconstruction, symptomatic chronic lateral ankle instabilities can be successfully managed.