[Ligaments reconstruction for the treatment of lateral ankle instability].

Objective: To study therapeutic effects of lateral ankle ligaments reconstruction for the treatment of chronic lateral instability of the ankle joint.

Methods: From July 2005 to January 2008, among 13 patients with chronic lateral instability of the ankle joint, 10 patients were male and 3 patients were female, ranging in age from 24 to 45 years,with an average of 33 years. Anterior talo-fibular ligament (ATFL) and calcanea-fibular ligament (CFL) were anatomy reconstructed with a split peroneus brevis tendon graft for all patients. The ankle scoring system was used to evaluate ankle joint function before and after operation, which including stability, pain, locomotor activity and X-ray films.

Results: All the patients were followed up ranged from 6 to 32 months, averaged 16.4 months. The postoperative scores of the ankles increased in respect to stability, pain and locomotor activity. The total average score increased from preoperative (43.54+/-7.04) to postoperative (73.38+/-4.17). There was significant difference between preoperative scores and postoperative scores (P<0.01). All the patients were satisfied with the results.

Conclusion: Anatomy reconstruct of the ATFL and CFL with a split peroneus brevis tendon graft (Sammarco method) is a practical method for lateral ankle instability and promise good results especially for patients complained of instability.