What is Ankle Sprain Surgery?

Ankle sprains are one of the most common orthopedic injuries. You can read more about them in one of our previous posts on ankle sprains.

Most patients with an ankle sprain improve with conservative, non-surgical treatment, including ‘RICE’, immobilization, and physical therapy.

However, if you still have persistent pain and instability (the feeling that the ankle ‘gives away’), after conservative treatments, then you might be in the small percentage of patients who need ankle sprain surgery. Persistent pain and instability can occur after one bad ankle sprain or a series of multiple ankle sprains.

My ankle sprain never healed. What are my ankle surgery options?

If your ankle didn’t fully heal after conservative treatment, an orthopedic surgeon can perform several surgical procedures to repair your ankle:

• First, an ankle arthroscopy is often performed. That means a camera and small instruments are placed carefully into the ankle joint to evaluate and treat any cartilage lesions.
• Next, the ankle ligaments on the outside of the ankle are repaired. This is done by tightening up the torn ligaments with strong sutures and suture anchors. ‘Suture anchors’ are corkscrews with sutures that are placed into bone.
• The ankle ligament repair is often supplemented by sewing additional soft tissue on the outside of the ankle over the ligaments for additional support.
• In patients with chronic ankle instability, sometimes the tissue isn’t strong enough to use for repair. In those cases, the repair can be supplemented with commercially available suture devices, a tendon transfer, or a combination of both.

What happens after ankle surgery?

• We use a multimodal pain medication protocol to ensure pain is controlled.
• Patient are placed into a well-padded splint, and we schedule a clinic visit two weeks after surgery.
• Patients are often nonweightbearing for 4-6 weeks after surgery.
• Then, patients progress to walking in a boot with the guidance of physical therapy.

The American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society (AOFAS) has more information about ankle sprain surgery at FootCareMD.

For more questions or to set up an evaluation, contact Dr. Stautberg’s office at 281-977-4870.

Author

Eugene Stautberg, MD