Original ResearchThe correlation of the morphological changes of ankle point and ankle joint function after surgery on the Ruedi-Allgouer type III Pilon fracture: A case series study

- Reporting Ankle Joint Function is relate to Morphological Changes of Ankle Point.
- No guideline exists for reporting Ruedi-Allgouer Type III Pilon Fracture.
- Our objective was to prevent the occurrence of traumatic arthritis after Pilon Fracture.

BackgroundTo analyze the relationship between imaging findings and postoperative curative effect by measuring the morphology of the ankle mortise in patients with the Ruedi-Allgouer type III Pilon fractures.Material and methodsForty-seven patients with Ruedi-Allgouer type III Pilon fractures who underwent surgical treatment from January 2011 to January 2015 were retrospectively analyzed. At the last follow-up, x-rays of the affected ankle and the healthy side were measured. According to the Kitaoka score of ankle joint function at the last follow-up.ResultsAll patients were followed up for 18-24 months (mean 21 months). This study demonstrated that compared with the healthy side, the index of the width, depth, and coronal/sagittal angles of the ankle mortise were significantly different (P < 0.05) in the 47 patients except for the index of height (P > 0.05). According to the Kitaoka score, the difference between the affected and the healthy sides of each index of the ankle mortise was compared between the 3 groups. That is, the intraoperative treatment of the width and depth of the ankle mortise as well as the coronal and sagittal angles of the ankle mortise were significantly correlated with the postoperative curative effect.ConclusionThe intraoperative treatment of ankle mortise width, depth, and ankle coronal/sagittal angle in patients with severe Pilon fractures has a significant impact on postoperative efficacy. In order to prevent the occurrence of traumatic arthritis, the anatomical morphology of the ankle should be restored as much as possible in the course of surgery.