Functional Outcome Estimation of Bimalleolar Ankle Fractures Treated by Open Reduction and Internal Fixation at a Tertiary Care Center: A Descriptive Cross-sectional Study.

Introduction: Ankle fractures account for about 9% of all fractures in adults. Open reduction and internal fixation is the preferred treatment for such injuries. However, surgery is not free of complications, and outcomes following surgery are not always satisfactory. Therefore, this study aimed to estimate the functional outcomes of bimalleolar ankle fractures treated by open reduction and internal fixation.

Methods: This descriptive, cross-sectional study was carried out at a tertiary care center in the western region of Nepal among the patients with bimalleolar ankle fractures from March 2017 to August 2020 after approval from the Institutional review committee. Convenience sampling was done to reach the sample size. Twenty-nine cases were included in the study. Data were recorded in proforma and data analysis was done in the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS 16.0). The American Orthopedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) ankle-handfoot score was used to assess the final outcome.

Results: At the final evaluation mean AOFAS ankle-handfoot score score was 89.86 (±7.95). According to the AOFAS ankle-hindfoot score, there were 19 excellent (65.51%), six good (20.68%), and four fair (13.79%) results. Complications in the form of superficial infection were seen in four (13.79%) cases.

Conclusions: Functional outcomes following surgical treatment of bimalleolar ankle fractures are mostly excellent to good and complications following surgery are few, therefore, surgery is a better option of treatment in bimalleolar ankle fractures.