Ankle Injuries: Various Presentations & Their Functional Outcomes

Introduction: Ankle injuries are extremely common injuries. With ankle fractures, the primary concern is residual instability of the joint as mal-alignment and residual displacement can adversely affect biomechanical behavior of the ankle and result in loss of function. Methods:50 patients with ankle fractures treated at Government Medical College & Rajindra Hospital, Patiala were included in the study. Following the radiological evaluation, open reduction and internal fixation of all fractures was done as per the standard approaches, depending on the mode of fixation planned. Results: Road side accidents 48% was the most common cause of Ankle fractures. Weber type C 44% and Lauge Hansen Supination External Rotation 30% type was the most common type of ankle fracture seen. 100% of Pronation Abduction (PAB) Injuries had excellent outcomes in all Subjective, Objective & Radiographic Weber's criteria. With Supination External Rotation (SER) injuries, 60% had Excellent Subjective & Objective outcome and 66.67% had radiographic excellent outcomes. Conclusion:We recommend use of Lauge Hansen's classification for directing management principles, which is better for both osseous and ligamentous injury assessment and their management.PAB & SAD injuries can be well managed with surgery with expected Good outcomes.On their counterpart, SER & PER injuries can be expected to result in less desirable outcomes and thus must be dealt with more seriously.