Revision Ankle Syndesmosis Fixation: Functional Outcome after TightRope® Fixation

ABSTRACT Introduction Syndesmotic injuries present a challenge to orthopedic surgeons. Malreduction of the syndesmosis has been reported to cause instability and secondary osteoarthritis and is correlated with poor subjective and objective outcomes. There are very few studies that report the outcome after revision fixation of these injuries. Previous studies have reported varying techniques for revision syndesmosis reconstruction, including screw fixation and tendon transfers. We present the results of the use of the TightRope® suture for revision syndesmosis fixation. This implant has the advantage of maintaining physiological motion whilst allowing for healing of syndesmotic ligaments and prevents the need for further surgery to remove screws in already scarred soft tissues. Materials and methods We retrospectively analyzed 124 patients who required syndesmotic stabilization from January 2000 until December 2009. Eight of these 124 patients required surgical revision of their failed syndesmosis fixation, each of which was stabilized with the TightRope® Suture. All eight patients were followed up and their outcomes assessed. Seven of the eight patients in our study had technically sound initial fixation of the syndesmosis. Four of the eight patients had syndesmotic separation after screw removal 10 weeks after primary fixation. Results In our study, 6 of the 8 patients had good or satisfactory outcomes based on American Orthopedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) scores. In spite of accurate revision fixation of the syndesmosis, two patients required further surgery. One patient had conversion to an ankle fusion because of persistent syndesmotic widening and ongoing pain after revision surgery. Another patient required syndesmotic arthrodesis as a result of persistent pain. Conclusion TightRope® suture fixation is a good method of syndesmosis stabilization in patients requiring revision surgery. Randomized studies would be required to compare the effectiveness of this method of fixation with screw fixation. How to cite this article Rajagopalan S, Moonot P, Sangar A, Taylor H. Revision Ankle Syndesmosis Fixation: Functional Outcome after TightRope® Fixation. J Foot Ankle Surg (Asia- Pacific) 2016;3(1):23-27.