Multicenter Treatment of Ankle Fractures: Does Arthroscopic Examination Make a Difference?

Background The role of arthroscopy in the management of ankle fractures is controversial. This study aims to evaluate the prevalence of intra-articular pathologies detected during arthroscopically assisted reduction and internal fixation (ARIF) of ankle fractures, stratified by fracture classification, for indirect comparison to current literature. We also present short- to mid-term patient-reported outcomes (PROs) for a subset of the participant cohort. Methods We retrospectively analyzed the intra-articular findings of 134 patients who underwent ARIF of ankle fractures. A statistical analysis was performed to assess for significant differences in the proportions of affected patients across fracture types for each intra-articular pathology. PROs included Visual Analog Scale (VAS) ratings and Foot and Ankle Ability Measure scores for Activities of Daily Living (FAAM ADL). Results Intra-articular pathologies were noted in 92.5% of patients including sources of anterior impingement such as synovitis (52.2%), soft tissue (29.9%), and loose bodies (33.6%), as well as syndesmotic injury (47.0%), deltoid injury (26.1%), and osteochondral defects (29.1%) (Figure 1). Deltoid injury was more frequently detected in Weber C fractures than in any other fracture type. Syndesmotic injury occurred significantly more frequently in Weber C fractures than in Weber A (P < .01) and Weber B fractures (P < .001) (Table 1, Figure 2). PROs obtained for a subset of patients at the final follow-up reflected low VAS scores (mean = 1.78, n = 49) and high FAAM ADL scores (mean = 71.1, n = 14). Conclusion Arthroscopy during ankle fracture surgery is valuable in the detection of intra-articular pathologies that may require treatment to ensure positive patient outcomes. Furthermore, fracture type may be correlated with higher incidence of certain intra-articular pathologies. While future direct comparison is necessary between open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF) and ARIF, our study proposes that ARIF detects issues that may otherwise remain undetected during ORIF and suggests that concomitant arthroscopy is beneficial for ankle fracture fixation. Level of Evidence: Level IV—Case series