Arthroscopic Versus Open Broström-Gould Repair for Chronic Ankle Instability

Abstract

Background:

The open Broström-Gould procedure for the repair of lateral ankle ligament remains the gold standard in operative management of chronic ankle instability. Nevertheless, the arthroscopic technique has been gaining attention among foot and ankle surgeons in the past decade. Our study aimed to compare the clinical outcomes of patients who underwent the arthroscopic and open Brostom-Gould technique over a 12-month follow-up period.

Methods:

We retrospectively reviewed the database in a tertiary hospital foot and ankle registry from 2015 to 2019. We then performed a 1:1 matching of 26 ankles that underwent the arthroscopic Broström-Gould technique to 26 ankles with the open technique, all performed by a fellowship-trained foot and ankle surgeon, for age, sex, and body mass index. To assess clinical outcomes, visual analog scale scores, American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society (AOFAS) Ankle-Hindfoot Scores, and Short Form 36 Health Survey scores were collected at the preoperative and 6- and 12-month follow-up visits, respectively.

Results:

The arthroscopic group demonstrated significantly less pain in the perioperative period (arthroscopic, 1.0 ± 1.2; open, 2.4 ± 2.2; P = .015) and had higher AOFAS scores at 6 months (arthroscopic, 87.2 ± 11.1; open, 73.5 ± 21.9; P = .028) and 12 months (arthroscopic, 94.2 ± 10.0; open, 70.9 ± 33.1; P = .020). No complications were reported in either group. Twenty patients (76.9%) in the arthroscopic group had preoperative intra-articular abnormalities compared with 24 patients (92.3%) in the open group.

Conclusion:

The arthroscopic Broström-Gould technique produced better clinical outcomes than the open technique at 12 months of follow-up.

Level of Evidence:

Level III, retrospective comparative series.