{"title":"Clinical significance of posterior talofibular ligament injury in chronic lateral ankle instability.","authors":"Tomoyuki Nakasa, Yasunari Ikuta, Shingo Kawabata, Satoru Sakurai, Dan Moriwaki, Saori Ishibashi, Asyumaredha Asril Silan, Nobuo Adachi","doi":"10.1007/s00402-024-05598-7","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Purpose: </strong>Although arthroscopic repair of the anterior talofibular ligament (ATFL) is widely performed, the effect of posterior talofibular ligament (PTFL) injury on clinical outcomes remains unclear. This study aimed to evaluate the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings of the PTFL in chronic lateral ankle instability (CLAI) and determine whether the presence or absence of PTFL injury affected the postoperative outcomes of arthroscopic ATFL repair.</p><p><strong>Materials and methods: </strong>Forty ankles of 35 patients who underwent arthroscopic repair for CLAI were included in this study as the experimental group, together with 25 ankles of 24 patients without CLAI as the control group. The PTFL thickness (PTFLT) and PTFL cross-sectional area (PTFLCSA) were measured using MRI and compared between the control and CLAI groups. The clinical outcomes of arthroscopic repair were compared between ankles with and without PTFL injuries.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The mean PTFLT and PTFLCSA values were significantly higher in the CLAI group than in the control group. The PTFLT and PTFLCSA in the PTFL injury group were significantly larger than those in the non-injury group in the CLAI group. Postoperatively, there were no significant differences in clinical scores and talar tilt angles on stress radiographs between ankles with and without PTFL injury; however, instability recurrence was frequently observed in ankles with PTFL injury (32.1%) compared to the ankles without PTFL injury (16.7%). Poor-quality ATFL remnant, ATFL inferior fascicle, and calcaneofibular ligament injuries were frequently observed in ankles with PTFL injuries.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Our findings indicate that PTFL injury is highly associated with CLAI but it does not affect postoperative clinical scores. However, postoperative instability recurrence was more often observed in ankles with PTFL injuries, given that they frequently have poor-quality ATFL remnants and CFL injuries.</p><p><strong>Evidence level: </strong>Level III.</p>","PeriodicalId":8326,"journal":{"name":"Archives of Orthopaedic and Trauma Surgery","volume":" ","pages":"5021-5030"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0000,"publicationDate":"2024-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11582185/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Archives of Orthopaedic and Trauma Surgery","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00402-024-05598-7","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2024/9/30 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"ORTHOPEDICS","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Purpose: Although arthroscopic repair of the anterior talofibular ligament (ATFL) is widely performed, the effect of posterior talofibular ligament (PTFL) injury on clinical outcomes remains unclear. This study aimed to evaluate the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings of the PTFL in chronic lateral ankle instability (CLAI) and determine whether the presence or absence of PTFL injury affected the postoperative outcomes of arthroscopic ATFL repair.
Materials and methods: Forty ankles of 35 patients who underwent arthroscopic repair for CLAI were included in this study as the experimental group, together with 25 ankles of 24 patients without CLAI as the control group. The PTFL thickness (PTFLT) and PTFL cross-sectional area (PTFLCSA) were measured using MRI and compared between the control and CLAI groups. The clinical outcomes of arthroscopic repair were compared between ankles with and without PTFL injuries.
Results: The mean PTFLT and PTFLCSA values were significantly higher in the CLAI group than in the control group. The PTFLT and PTFLCSA in the PTFL injury group were significantly larger than those in the non-injury group in the CLAI group. Postoperatively, there were no significant differences in clinical scores and talar tilt angles on stress radiographs between ankles with and without PTFL injury; however, instability recurrence was frequently observed in ankles with PTFL injury (32.1%) compared to the ankles without PTFL injury (16.7%). Poor-quality ATFL remnant, ATFL inferior fascicle, and calcaneofibular ligament injuries were frequently observed in ankles with PTFL injuries.
Conclusions: Our findings indicate that PTFL injury is highly associated with CLAI but it does not affect postoperative clinical scores. However, postoperative instability recurrence was more often observed in ankles with PTFL injuries, given that they frequently have poor-quality ATFL remnants and CFL injuries.
期刊介绍:
"Archives of Orthopaedic and Trauma Surgery" is a rich source of instruction and information for physicians in clinical practice and research in the extensive field of orthopaedics and traumatology. The journal publishes papers that deal with diseases and injuries of the musculoskeletal system from all fields and aspects of medicine. The journal is particularly interested in papers that satisfy the information needs of orthopaedic clinicians and practitioners. The journal places special emphasis on clinical relevance.
"Archives of Orthopaedic and Trauma Surgery" is the official journal of the German Speaking Arthroscopy Association (AGA).