Surgical treatment for ankle fractures

Objective To evaluate the outcome of the surgical-treated ankle fractures. Methods We reviewed the outcomes of 92 cases of ankle fracture which had complete follow-up data from January 2000 to April 2008. The outcomes were assessed by AOFAS (American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society) scoring scale, VAS scale, satisfaction degree of patients and range of ankle motion. The differences in AOFAS scoring and ankle motive range between involved and contralateral extremity, AO fracture types, involved positions (solemaleolar, bimaleolar, trimaleolar), follow-up timing were statistically analyzed. Results Follow-ups averaged 55 months. All cases had fracture healed. The average AOFAS score was 93.6 points. The excellent to good rate was 100%. VAS score was 0.17 points on average. Satisfaction score was 9.62 points on average. Statistical analysis showed that the motive range of ankle joint between involved and con-tralateral extremity had a significant difference, but there were no significant differences in AOFAS scores and range of ankle dorsiflexion-plantarflexion between AO fracture types, involved positions and different follow-up durations, Conclusion Surgical treatment for ankle fractures can have a good clinical result. Key words: Ankle joint; Fractures; Operation