Ankle Fractures: A Literature Review of Current Treatment Methods

Ankle fracture is one of the most common lower limb fractures for they account for 9% of all fractures representing a significant portion of the trauma workload. Ankle fractures usually affect young men and older women, however, below the age of 50; ankle fractures are the commonest in men. Two commonly used classification systems for ankle fractures include the danis weber AO classification and the Lauge-Hansen classification. There is biomechanical evidence that posterior non-locking plates are superior in stability than laterally placed plates; however there is little clinical evidence. There are several different methods of ankle fracture fixation, however the goal of treatment remains a stable anatomic reduction of talus in the ankle mortise and correction of the fibula length as a 1 mm lateral shift of the talus in the ankle mortise reduces the contact area by 42%, and displacement (or shortening) of the fibula more than 2 mm will lead to significant increases in joint contact pressures. Further research both biomechanically and clinically needs to be undertaken in order to clarify a preferable choice of fixation.