Clinical efficacy of arthroscopic reconstruction of the anterior talofibular ligament with preservation of the stump

Abstract

Background The purpose of this study was to investigate the clinical efficacy of anatomic reconstruction of the anterior talofbular ligament with preservation of the stump. Methods This retrospective study included 42 patients who underwent an endoscopic lateral ligament reconstruction between from June 2015 to June 2019.Fourteen consecutive patients (10 [71.4%] males and 4 [28.6%] female, mean age 27.79 ± 4.56[range 26 to 36] years) with preserved anterior tibiofibular ligament stump were enrolled in this study.On the other side ,there were 18 patients with unpreserved tibiofibular ligament stumps (unpreserved stump group), 12 males and 6 females, aged 20–36 years, mean (28.56 ± 5.67) years.The functional evaluation was carried out according to the Ankle-Hindfoot Score by the American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society.The Tegner system was used to evaluate range of motion after the index procedure. Ankle proprioception was assessed using the visual analogue scale (VAS) to assess the degree of subjective pain symptoms. Operative time, fever time and wound healing time were also recorded. Results There were no statistically significant differences in postoperative outcomes such as postoperative fever time and wound healing time between the two groups (P > 0.05). The operative time was slightly longer in the stump-preserving group than in the non-stump-preserving group (94.14 ± 11.59 vs. 82.94 ± 15.61 P < 0.05). There were no statistically significant differences in preoperative AOFAS ankle-hindfoot scores, Tegner motor level scores, and VAS scores between patients in the retained-stump group and the non-reserved-stump group (P > 0.05). At 1 year after surgery, the AOFAS ankle-hindfoot scores and Tegner motor level scores improved and the VAS pain scores decreased in both the presurgical and non-presurgical groups. The AOFAS ankle-hindfoot scores and Tegner motion level scores 1 year after surgery were higher in the group with preserved stump than in the group without preserved stump (P < 0.05). Conclusion Arthroscopic reconstruction of the anterior talofibular ligament with and without preservation of the stump can achieve good clinical outcomes. Although arthroscopic anterior talofibular ligament reconstruction with preserved stump prolonged the operative time compared with surgery without preserved stump, it could better improve the subjective ankle function and motion status of patients and improve the prognosis.