Abstract
Ankle sprains are common injuries and typically treated conservatively. Chronic ankle
instability, however, can require surgery when nonoperative measures fail. We evaluated
the clinical outcomes of an active duty population in a retrospective study of patients
who had undergone a modified Broström procedure at our facility from January 2010
through April 2014 by a single surgeon. The electronic medical records and Army E-profile
database were reviewed to determine whether the patients had returned to active duty
and whether they had any permanent postoperative lower extremity activity restrictions.
A total of 127 patients met the inclusion criteria and had undergone the modified
Broström procedure during the study period; 34 (26.8%) separated from the military
postoperatively. Of these 34 patients, 23 (18.1%) were unfit for reasons related to
their ankle and 11 (8.7%) required military separation for reasons unrelated to their
ankle. Thus, 93 patients (73.2%) were able to remain on active duty after undergoing
the Broström procedure. Of the 93 patients able to remain on active duty, 38 (40.9%)
required activity modifications and 55 (59.1%) were able to return to full duty. Chronic
ankle instability in active duty patients can be severely limiting. The modified Broström
procedure can provide significant improvement in symptoms and allow patients to remain
on active duty. In our high-demand population, ~73% of patients were able to remain
on active duty after their injury and subsequent surgery, 60% of whom returned to
their previous level of duty without any physical restrictions.
Level of Clinical Evidence
Keywords
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Article info
Footnotes
Financial Disclosure: None reported.
Conflict of Interest: None reported.
Identification
Copyright
Published by Elsevier Inc. on behalf of the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons.
