Preliminary Findings of Morphometric Analysis of Ankle Joint in Korean Population

The clinical success of ankle joint arthroplasty depends on the availability of information on the morphology of the relevant bones. Thus, the implant design and surgical technique should be adjusted to the ankle morphology. However, few reports have described the characteristics of ankle morphometry in Korean populations. The present study evaluated the characteristics of ankle morphometry in a Korean population sample. Weightbearing ankle radiographs of 100 Korean patients were retrieved, and 13 representative indexes were measured after establishing the reliability of the measurements. Ankle morphometry was analyzed in terms of (1) size diversity, (2) aspect (anteroposterior/mediolateral) ratio, (3) distal anteroposterior inclination angle, and (4) complication-related anatomy. The measurements were compared with those of previous studies of white populations. In terms of size diversity, the ankle morphometry in Koreans was smaller in all parameters, except for the talar width. Koreans had a different aspect ratio than whites. The increase in the distal anteroposterior inclination angle was statistically significant (p < .001), and complication-related indexes were also significantly increased. In addition to the smaller dimensions in Korean populations, surgeons should be aware of the characteristics of Korean patients, such as the steep slope and vulnerability to iatrogenic malleolar fractures.