Current approaches to treating chronic ankle instability with lateral ankle ligament repair
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Citation
Abstract
Acute ankle sprains typically heal without significant medical intervention, but some percentage of patients will progress towards a condition called chronic ankle instability. While this condition can be improved with rehabilitation, a subset of patients will not respond to therapy and are considered for surgical treatment. The proffered surgical options throughout the twentieth century were largely limited to repairs that attempted to recreate the natural anatomy based off of Brostrom’s direct repair or those that aimed to reduce instability without adhering to the natural biomechanics. But within the last several decades, surgical treatment of chronic ankle instability has undergone significant advances, with many surgeons adopting strategies and implants originally used in other fields of orthopedic surgery. The use of arthroscopy, suture anchors, and suture tape augmentation have dramatically changed the approach previously taken to carry out the modified Brostrom repair, but the effects of these new strategies have not been widely studied. This review aims to assess the evidence supporting each of these “modern modifications” to the modified Brostrom procedure and identify areas for additional research.